VA GUBE: McAuliffe Is In
Launching his first campaign as a candidate, former Democratic National Committee chief Terry McAuliffe will officially announce his bid for VA governor tomorrow morning during an event in Hampton Roads. McAuliffe, who has spent the last 15 years as an enthusiastic advocate for Bill and Hillary Clinton, will embark on a weeklong tour of the state.
During a call with reporters earlier today, campaign manager Mike Henry and senior strategist Mo Elleithee pitched McAuliffe as the candidate with the "strongest bio" who has the "best ideas" to jumpstart the state's economy.
"There's probably nobody who has more energy than Terry McAuliffe," Henry said.
Henry also stressed that the Democratic race is wide open, highlighting a Washington Post survey in October showing the three party candidates running somewhat even with a large segment of voters still undecided. When self-identified Democrats and independents who lean Democratic were asked which candidate they prefer as the nominee, 16 percent named former state delegate Brian Moran, 12 percent McAuliffe and 11 percent state Sen. Creigh Deeds.
"The race is wide open," Henry added.
McAuliffe's rivals are expected to paint him as an outsider, a Democratic celebrity of sorts who will raise ample campaign cash nationally but who doesn't know the problems of Virginians. McAuliffe, a father of five who lives in McLean, will likely counter, aides said, by stressing his executive and business experience and by noting the changing demographics of the state. Virginia is growing, and the northern portion, in particular, has several thriving immigrant communities and has effectively become a bustling Washington suburb.
"Not all good ideas come out of Richmond, come out of the General Assembly," Elleithee said.
All three candidates are already working to seize the mantle of Gov. Tim Kaine, who is taking the party chairman job McAuliffe once held, and Sen. Mark Warner, also a successful former governor. It remains to be seen if McAuliffe's backing of Hillary Clinton during the presidential primary will in any way shape the public's view of his campaign. Barack Obama trounced Clinton by 30 points during the state's February primary contest.
McAuliffe spent the last two months crisscrossing the state on a Clintonesque listening tour. His Web site indicates that he has visited more than 40 towns and cities, from the Waterside Motor Inn in Chincoteague to the Blue Mountain Coffee Shop in Staunton.
After tomorrow's kick-off event in Hampton Roads, McAuliffe will travel to Richmond, Charlottesville and Alexandria. He'll hit Harrisonburg, Roanoke and Bristol on Thursday and Martinsville, Danville, South Boston and Emporia on Friday.
Stay tuned for additional announcement tour information.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
All three candidates are already working to seize the mantle of Gov. Tim Kaine
If only Kaine had a career worth following. His performance has fallen far short of his potential. If the Republicans had run a stronger candidate than Jerry Kilgore, Kaine might have lost the race.
I've lived in Virginia for 20 years; I'm hard pressed to think of anything Terry McAuliffe did for Virginia. The reason he's running in Virginia is because it is a state with no limits on how much an individual, corporation or union can donate to a candidate running for state office.
Can you say "self funding candidate"? I knew you could.
McAuliffe can't give Virginia anything that Moran or Deeds can't.
Kilgore was the only statewide in 2005. The nomination was his. The only person at the time that could have given Kaine a tough run would be Congressman Randy Forbes, a very conservative but well liked member from Chesapeake. He probably wanted to move up in the GOP ranks since at that time they controlled congress. Until the downstate and what's left of the NoVa Republicans unite as one party, they will continue to lose statewide. They have a long way to go, Obama won Henrico, Chesapeake, Loudoun, and barely lost Virginia Beach.