George Soros

Embattled Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam is coming under heavy criticism thanks to a Soros-backed outsider group that is borrowing his imagery and labeling Republican Ed Gillespie as a racist.

The outside group — Latino Victory Fund PAC — donated $16,000 to Northam’s campaign after a fundraiser earlier this year.

The Latino Victory Fund PAC is run by a firm by the name of Perkins Cole, according to FEC sources.

If the name sounds familiar, it is because Perkins Cole has come under recent scrutiny this week for being the law firm who hired Fusion GPS to compile the Trump dossier:

Elias hired the company, Fusion GPS, to assist in the law firm’s representation of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, report the New York Times and the Washington Post, which was first with the story. The Clinton campaign and the DNC helped pay for the opposition research, the stories report.

The law firm’s involvement became public in a letter filed in court that was written by Perkins Coie managing partner Matthew Gehringer. The letter said Perkins Coie hired Fusion GPS in April 2016. Before that, Fusion GPS had been conducting research for one or more clients during the Republican primary.

Needless to say, the Latino Victory Fund PAC has some dubious ties of its own to outside money — 99% of which comes from non-Virginian sources.

Sources speaking on background with TRS are stating that Northam’s internals took a plunge for the worse over the last few weeks, signalling an intent by Northam handlers that the campaign needed to “let it all go” and throw the punches hard, high, and to the right.

Calls for Northam to refund the $16,000 have thus far gone unheeded.

UPDATE: Justin Higgins has had enough.