Ralph Northam (Virginia Governor) – Biography, Wife, Family, Anti-Racism Allegations

Ralph Northam is an American politician who currently serves as the 73rd Governor of Virginia. Prior to being elected to the position, he served as the 40th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018 and a member of the Virginia Senate from the 6th District from 2008 to 2014. Prior to joining politics, Northam who described himself as a conservative on tax issues and liberal on social issues worked with the military as a doctor.

Ralph Northam (Governor of Virginia) Bio

Governor Ralph Shearer Northam was born on September 13, 1959, in Nassawadox, Virginia. He was raised alongside his brother Thomas Northam in Onancock, Virginia by their parents Westcott B. Northam and Nancy B. Shearer. While her father was a lawyer, her mother was a nurse.

Along with working on the homestead where the family grew different crops and tended livestock, Ralph also worked on a ferry, on fishing charters, and on a neighbor’s farm.

He got his education from a disintegrated public before graduating from Onancock High School. Ralph played basketball and baseball when he was in high school and was later voted “most likely to succeed.” From there he moved to Virginia Military Institute from where he graduated in 1981 and then he went to Eastern Virginia Medical School where he earned his master’s degree.

He then served in the United States Army as a medical officer from 1984 to 1992 before leaving the army as a major. Later, Ralph worked at the King’s Daughters Children’s Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia as a pediatric neurologist.

The first time he sought an elective internship position was in 2007 when he ran for Virginia’s 6th Senate District. He secured the Democratic nomination unopposed before defeating Republican Nick Rerras who was a two-term Republican president.

In the 2013 election, he ran for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He secured the Democratic nomination after beating Aneesh Chopra, then he defeated Republican EW Jackson to become Virginia’s 40th lieutenant governor.

Northam joined the race for Virginia’s 2017 gubernatorial election and knocked it out against Tom Perriello whom he defeated to secure the Democratic nomination. After that, he defeated Republican candidate Ed Gillespie by a wider-than-expected margin to become Virginia’s 73rd governor.

His wife and family

Several years ago, Pam Northam was invited to a pool party on a blind date where she met young Ralph Northam who immediately fell in love with her. At first, she wasn’t interested in dating anyone because she was busy with her new career, but the governor persisted.

At the time, Pam had a cat that she rescued and gave birth to. Unfortunately there was a little kitten who couldn’t nurse and so with the tools from her neonatal intensive care unit Ralph and Pam made a feeding device which saved the cat and that’s how she is fell in love with him.

By 1987 the two were married and their family is now complete with two adult children, Wes who is a brain surgeon and Aubrey who is a web developer.

Allegations of racism

Although he has maintained an impeccable political and medical career over the years that has helped him gain support from people across racial divides, Ralph Northam woke up on February 1, 2019, to some serious questions about his history of racism.

This was after a photo of her medical school yearbook page emerged. The photo features someone in a Ku Klux Klan robe and another with a painted black face. This led to many people making allegations of racism against him, describing the photo as something inexcusable.

After the photo was released, the governor of Virginia wasted no time in apologizing. The next day, he denied taking the photo or even seeing it. More so, he added that he was not at the party where the photo was taken. His explanation was that it was a mix-up during the production of the yearbook that resulted in the photo being obtained.

Allegations of racism against the Virginia governor only got worse when it was discovered that his nickname when he was in college was the racial scourge, Coonman.

Ralph Northam went from denying ever wearing the Klan robe or blackface to admitting he once used shoe polish to blacken his face to impersonate Michael Jackson. He claimed he did it to attend a Halloween party a few months after graduating from Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Following the racism allegations against RalphNortham, there have been widespread calls for him to resign from many quarters, even from the Virginia House Democratic Caucus. His predecessor Terry McAuliffe and Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, who will succeed him if he steps down, have asked the governor to step down.

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