Trump moves to turn Virginia red amid Democratic meltdown

The White House offensive in Virginia highlights President Donald Trump’s central challenge in 2020 — his popularity is underwater in many of the states that powered his upset victory in 2016. Before Pence departed for the fundraiser on Wednesday, the president asked him to deliver a message to state Republicans.“Tell them we think Virginia is in play and that I’m going to be there,” Trump told the vice president, according to one person familiar with the exchange.The race for 2020 starts now. Virginia should be one of those states,” said Phil Cox, who managed the 2009 gubernatorial campaign of Bob McDonnell, the last statewide Republican officeholder in Virginia.While Virginia is an early focus, campaign officials have discussed making a play in New Hampshire, Minnesota, Colorado and even New Mexico — a state that Trump lost by 8 percentage points. “There are a number of states where President Trump nearly won and we intend to focus a lot of attention there.”Prior to the Wednesday fundraiser, Pence huddled with a small group of Republican state legislative leaders, including state House Speaker Kirk Cox. They discussed Virginia politics and the coming presidential contest.“He said, and we agreed, that Virginia is in play in 2020,” said state Del. Tim Hugo, a Republican caucus chairman who attended the meeting.Pence, Hugo said, made clear that he was committed to helping them in this year’s legislative races and that “he’d come back as much as we wanted.”