So who outed Northam: positional analysis

Facts:

Getting rid of Northam removes a powerful incumbent Democrat.

VA lt. Governor is still a strong replacement. Unclear if race is a factor in VA politics these days. Potentially racist vote can still be exploited though.

Corey Stewart (an alt right adjacent figure) did not have this info to release.

Was released after a damaging series of abortion politics clips. Seems strategically timed. Info may have been in hand for a while.

Analysis:

Seems likely this was released by a center right Republican who wanted far right Corey Stewart to lose but wanted to increase the chances of a centrist Republican recapturing the seat in the future. At worst this move represents status quo for the center right in VA. At best they may now have ad edge. It was an excellent strategic move.

However the best Democratic countermove is still (imo) to broom Northam. It’s a defensive move with significant downside risk but the alternative is almost all downside.

To the strategist who executed this: well played.