In an email to supporters Tuesday, Gillespie cast efforts to remove Confederate statues from public land as an attempt to erase history.
"My opponent, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam has promised to do everything he can to remove Virginia's Confederate monuments and statues if he is elected governor," Gillespie said in the email, referring to Democratic nominee Ralph Northam.
"I think we should keep them up," he added. "We should teach history ‐ NOT erase it."
Gillespie's support for the petition comes weeks after violence erupted at a rally organized by white nationalists to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va., where one woman was killed and many others were injured when a car was driven into a crowd of counterprotesters.