Photo courtesy of terrymcauliffe.com
Terry McAuliffe
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Wednesday a bid for a second term as governor.
Democrat McAuliffe, 63, of McLean, served as the Commonwealth's governor from 2014-2018. Virginia is the only state in the country where a governor cannot run for two consecutive terms. Tuesday night he tweeted out a link to join a live feed of his "special announcement."
Watch the announcement here:
It was speculated that McAuliffe might become part of the Biden administration, but The Washington Post reported last month that he ruled it out.
McAuliffe's social media posts and website suggest he's ready to roll up his sleeves to help Virginia recover economically as well as on the education front from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Who Else is Running?
Three others have already thrown their hat in the ring including Del. Jennifer Carroll-Foy, 39, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, 47, and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, 41. All three candidates are African American.
Foy announced Tuesday she is stepping down as delegate to concentrate on her run for governor.
“I’m stepping down from the House of Delegates to focus 100 percent of my time on building a grass-roots movement to meet this moment,” she said in a video. “Helping families and workers recover and building a post-covid economy will be tough, but so are we. Together, we can rebuild a Virginia that leaves no one behind.”
In a year that saw Virginia rid itself of many Confederate symbols — from statues to school and street names — the political race is sure to be charged with racial dynamics.
McAuliffe plans to announce three campaign co-chairs, all of whom are Black, including House Majority Leader Charniele Herring of Alexandria. Others are Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and L.Louise Lucas, Senate president pro-tempore, CNN reported.
Before McAuliffe's entry into the race, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson, Alexandria School Board Member Jacinta Greene and Del. Paul Krizek, whose district includes the Fort Hunt and Mount Vernon areas of Fairfax County, endorsed McClellan.
So far, there are two declared Republican candidates: State Sen. Amanda F. Chase and Del. Kirk Cox, the former speaker of the House of Delegates. Chase has announced that she will run as an Independent, after the state GOP decided it would choose their nominee in a convention instead of a primary. Chase has pointed out that a convention "favors the Republican elite."
The Democratic primary is set for June 8. The general election is Nov. 2, 2021.
