This is a good article that accurately captures my dissatisfaction with Northam and presumably also the concerns raised by the OP and others in this thread. Yes, this is in RealClearPolitics but Carl Cannon is a mainstream reporter who was previously at National Journal.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/01/31/virginia_is_for_losers_a_covid_cautionary_tale.html
I'm a loyal D voter at the federal level would consider voting for an R candidate for governor in the Hogan model, but it seems unlikely that we'll get one. The Republican party in Virginia has been pushing away their moderate R's as far back as the 2008 Senate race, when they blocked Tom Davis from having a chance at the nomination.