The political revival of Ralph Northam: How an ostracized governor became a progressive champion

Alexandria, Virginia (CNN) -- When Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam looks back at his tenure, the inflection point between being a run-of-the-mill executive and the progressive leader he has become is a painful one.

The scandal -- born of the discovery of a decades-old yearbook photo that featured someone in blackface -- was an existential crisis for Northam and his administration. After initially saying the person in question was him, he denied it but admitted to darkening his skin as part of a Michael Jackson dance contest in 1984. Almost every Virginia Democrat called for his ouster as the state examined its racist past. Those closest to Northam said he was close to resigning.

How the governor survived was a surprise even to his most ardent supporters. The man who was nearly thrown out of office by his own party has, in the two years since, become a progressive champion, working with the same Democrats who called for his resignation to tighten gun laws in the commonwealth, restore the voting rights to nearly 70,000 felons, approve voting rights legislation and abolish the death penalty in the state. And just this week Northam signed legislation that would legalize marijuana this summer, the first Southern state to do so.

Northam's strategy to get beyond the scandal was part personal, part professional.

The 61-year-old Democrat was forced to address his own racial ignorance. He held a number of private listening sessions with Black leaders across a commonwealth that was once home to the capital of the Confederacy. He publicly pledged to both learn from his racial blind spots and to commit his administration to combating racial inequality.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/25/politics/ralph-northam-virginia-governor/index.html