Democrat Terry McAuliffe filed the paperwork needed to campaign for his old job as Virginia governor Wednesday, although his spokesman insisted he still has not yet made up his mind about whether he will actually run.
“Terry McAuliffe is making no decisions on 2021 until after we defeat Donald Trump and his hateful ideology. This represents a paperwork change suggested by our accountant and lawyer,” spokesman Brennan Bilberry said.
The paperwork filed with the Virginia elections office allows McAuliffe to create a campaign committee to raise money for a 2021 gubernatorial run.
There are currently two Democrats who have declared they’re running ― state Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy and state Sen. Jennifer McClellan. Both women would make history as the state’s first female governor and the country’s first Black female governor.
The campaigns of Carroll Foy and McClellan both issued statements on Thursday that threw not-so-subtle shade on the politics of the past.
“The politics of the past are not the change we need, and the politicians of the past won’t save us,” Foy said in a statement. “Virginians are calling for change in the streets. They want someone who understands their problems as I do —I’ve lived them. They want a Governor who will never put corporate interests over the people’s interest.”
McClellan political director Nichole Wescott Hayes said McClellan is running to “lead Virginia boldly into the future.”
“This election is going to be about which candidate has the vision for Virginia’s future, not trying to relive the past,” she said. “Today, Senator McClellan is delivering on that vision for the future by passing key criminal justice reform bills out of the Senate Judiciary Committee during special session. As Senator Kamala Harris said during her historic speech last night, ‘we’ve gotta do the work.’”
McAuliffe served as governor from 2014-2018 and remains popular. (Virginia prohibits governors from serving consecutive terms.) McAuliffe’s candidacy would immediately shake up the race. With his reputation statewide and his prodigious fundraising, he could be tough to beat. At the same time, however, many in the party say they’d like to see someone new lead the state.
“I would love to see Terry be an ally,” Lisa Sales, chair of the Fairfax County Commission For Women, told the Virginia Mercury. “I want to see more men in power become allies and champions of women taking power and evening the playing field.”
Some Democrats questioned the timing of McAuliffe’s filing, coming on the day that the Democratic National Convention celebrated the accomplishments of women in politics and Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) accepted the vice presidential nomination. His team, however, did not highlight the filing publicly and responded only after it was discovered by the media.
Susan Platt, who ran for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in 2017, said McAuliffe’s timing “could’ve been a little different.” She said that while she has known McAuliffe for awhile and believes he’s a “great guy” and was “a good governor,” she is backing McClellan.
“On the heels of Kamala Harris last night and Virginia electing all these women ― of all colors and creeds and backgrounds ― after Trump in 2016, wouldn’t it be great, after the Equal Rights Amendment [passage], that we’re the first state in the country to elect a Black woman in 2021?”
In January, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees equal protection for women. There will now be a legal battle about whether Virginia’s vote means that the ERA can be added to the U.S. Constitution. Both Carroll Foy and McClellan were instrumental in its passage.
On the GOP side, state Sen. Amanda Chase is the only declared candidate. She’s a fervent supporter of President Donald Trump and has decried “the liberal, socialistic agenda that has taken control of the Capitol.”
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney have all been discussed as other possible Democratic entrants to the race.
Virginia has seen a remarkable shift in recent years, with the former seat of the Confederacy turning bluer and more diverse. Last year, Democrats won control of both houses of the state legislature for the first time in more than two decades.
Herring and Fairfax were considered leading contenders for the governorship, but they’ve both weathered scandals around blackface and sexual assault allegations, respectively.