Terry McAuliffe is one step closer in his comeback quest to return to his former post as governor of Virginia, winning the primary for his party’s gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday as Virginia Democrats opted to play it safe rather than take a chance with a left-wing newcomer.
McAuliffe, 64, easily defeated four other candidates and will head to the November general election. He is seeking a second term as governor after a one-term break due to Virginia’s state Constitution barring the governor from holding back-to-back terms.
He will face Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin, a first-time candidate who was nominated last month by an “unassembled” party-controlled convention rather than a state-run primary. Youngkin, 54, is the former co-CEO of the Carlyle Group private equity firm and can largely self-fund his campaign, and some analysts think that Republicans have a shot to win a statewide election for the first time since 2009.
With McAuliffe officially set as Youngkin’s opponent, the stage is set for an insider-versus-outsider campaign. Not only is McAuliffe a former governor, he is also a longtime national party operative with ties to the Clintons whose stints include chairing Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, being a lead fundraiser Bill Clinton’s 1996 campaign, and being chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005.
REPUBLICAN GLENN YOUNGKIN TAKES ADVANTAGE OF HEAD START IN VIRGINIA GOVERNOR’S RACE
Youngkin is embracing that message. On Wednesday, he will start airing a television ad that laments the “same politicians taking us in the wrong direction” and flaunts that he is “not a politician” and his decades in business.
In another ad that will start airing on Wednesday, Youngkin’s campaign features McAulliffe’s most prominent Democratic primary opponent: “Terry McAuliffe is not inspiring … Failed to keep his promises … We don’t get change by recycling the same old politicians and policies of the past,” Former state Del. Jennifer Carrol Foy said in a supercut of clips from debates and interviews. “This is the future versus the past … We need a new leader who will move Virginia forward and not back.” Cue Youngkin, standing with the sun on the horizon and promising to bring “a new day to Virginia.”
Left-wing progressives hoped that voters would embrace the possibility of electing the first black female governor in the country, with two black female candidates running: Foy and state Sen. Jennifer McClellan.
Foy had endorsements from prominent left-wing organizations, including the Sunrise Movement, Virginia Justice Democrats, and the Working Families Party, and spent the final primary debate last week taking swipes at McAuliffe and arguing that he had “failed the people of Virginia” in his first term.
McAuliffe’s other opponents were Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who in 2019 faced allegations of sexual misconduct that he has repeatedly denied (and prompted him to compare himself to George Floyd and Emmett Till in a primary debate); and state Del. Lee Carter, a socialist who defeated the Republican House Majority Whip to win his seat in 2017.
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Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial election had historically served as the first major test of a presidential administration and preview for the midterm elections.
McAuliffe, though, is well-prepared for a battle. As of March 31, the longtime Democratic fundraiser and insider had raised nearly $10 million for his campaign, about $1.6 million from his Common Good Virginia leadership PAC.
