The election of Mr. Trump ushered in a wave of political activism on the left, pushing millions of neophytes into the streets for protests and marches. A flood of groups formed, promising to oppose the president at every turn, return the House and Senate to Democratic control next year and protect undocumented immigrants and voting rights.
Many in this army of volunteers, however, were not thinking about this year, when two states will choose governors. But with Election Day on Nov. 7 drawing closer, the campaigns of Mr. Murphy in New Jersey and Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, the Democratic candidate in Virginia, are seeing a surge in volunteers, many of them coming from anti-Trump groups.
In New Jersey, Action Together, with 18,000 members, has been coordinating its volunteers with the Murphy campaign’s effort to help Democrats up and down the ballot. NJ 11th for Change, a super PAC dedicated to unseating Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican, has been canvassing, staffing phone banks and organizing a ground game on behalf of Mr. Murphy.
