Democratic candidate for Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe previously held the office from 2014 to 2018. Like all Virginia governors, he was prohibited from running again as an incumbent.
A businessman and longtime Democratic Party fundraiser, McAuliffe jumped into the Virginia governor’s race in December after deciding in 2019 against a run for president.
McAuliffe served as co-chair of President Bill Clinton’s 1996 campaign and Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. He was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee in February 2001, serving in that role for four years.
McAuliffe , 64, has campaigned on the need to address Virginia’s lagging teacher pay and inequities in education funding.
He’s also pledged to work to accelerate Virginia’s minimum wage increase to $15 by 2024, protect abortion access and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
He supports mandating COVID-19 vaccines for children age 12 and older.
McAuliffe received his bachelor’s degree from Catholic University and earned his juris doctor from Georgetown Law School. He and his wife, Dorothy, have been married for more than 30 years and have five children.
