Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is testing the political waters for a historic second term.
McAuliffe, the state’s governor from 2014 to 2018, filed paperwork with Virginia’s Department of Elections to set up a 2021 gubernatorial campaign committee.
“While this is a paperwork change, Gov. McAuliffe is making no decisions on 2021 until after we defeat Donald Trump and his hateful ideology,” a McAuliffe spokesman told the Washington Examiner.
State law stipulates that Virginia governors are elected for four-year terms but can’t immediately run again. Only former Gov. Mills Godwin has served two non-consecutive terms, one from 1966 to 1970 and the other from 1974 to 1978.
McAuliffe, a past Democratic National Committee chairman, toyed with the idea of a presidential bid, but he decided against running when former Vice President Joe Biden, now the party’s standard-bearer, entered the race. He’s weighed in on Biden’s effort, telling Democrats over the summer, “He’s fine in the basement.”
McAuliffe had hinted at a second gubernatorial campaign, particularly during a national tour promoting his book, Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism.
“I’m passionate about Virginia,” he said last year. “You never know where life is going to take you.”
