Terry McAuliffe

Terry McAuliffe
Date of primary	June 11, 2013
General election	November 5, 2013
Candidate for
Governor of Virginia
Party	Democratic
Leadership
Former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Education
Bachelor's	Catholic University
J.D.	Georgetown Law School
Personal
Profession	Businessman
Religion	Catholic
Websites
Personal website
Campaign website

Terence Richard "Terry" McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is a Democratic candidate for Governor of Virginia in the 2013 elections. He is running uncontested in the June 11 Democratic primary election, and will face Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Libertarian Robert Sarvis in the general election on November 5, 2013. Current Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) is ineligible for re-election this year because of Virginia's strict term-limit laws which prohibit the governor from serving two consecutive terms.

This year's election marks McAuliffe's second bid for the governorship in Virginia; he ran for the office in 2009, finishing a distant second in the Democratic primary behind Creigh Deeds, who lost to McDonnell in the general election.

McAuliffe's campaign website emphasizes three types of jobs he would promote if elected. The areas of prioritization he lists are public education, efficient transportation and energy jobs.

A successful businessman and active member of his party on both the state and national level, McAuliffe served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005. He was also co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign and chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.

In 2009, McAuliffe was a defendant in the lawsuit, Nader v. McAuliffe, in which Nader alleged that McAuliffe and others conspired to deny Nader ballot access in his 2004 presidential bid. The court later rejected the allegations and dismissed the case.

Biography

McAuliffe is the son of World War II U.S. Army Captain Jack McAuliffe and Millie McAuliffe, and the youngest of four brothers. He was brought up in a working-class environment and began a business paving driveways for nearby homes and businesses at age 14 to help fund his college education. After graduating from high school, McAuliffe, a lifelong Catholic, earned his bachelor's degree from Catholic University. He later received his Juris Doctor from Georgetown Law School.

He went on to become a successful American businessman, political advisor for the Democratic Party and former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, serving from 2001 to 2005. He served as co-chairman of President Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign and chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.

Education

• Bachelor's degree - Catholic University
• Juris Doctor - Georgetown Law School

Elections

2013

See also: Virginia gubernatorial election, 2013

McAuliffe is running for election to the state executive office of Governor of Virginia. McAuliffe is running uncontested for the Democratic nomination in the June 11 primary. He will face Republican gubernatorial nominee and outgoing state attorney general Ken Cuccinelli in the general election, which will take place on November 5, 2013.

Race background

McAuliffe praises incumbent Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) for his efforts to amend state transportation funding policy - March 1, 2013

McAuliffe releases first TV ad of campaign - May 1, 2013

Current Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) is ineligible to run for re-election in 2013 because of term limits. The term limits Virginia imposes on its governors are more strict than any other state in the country: under the commonwealth's constitution, no governor may serve back-to-back terms. This means that McDonnell, unlike other governors in their first term, is ineligible to run for re-election until a full term has passed.

There are no such term limits on the attorney general, and many were surprised at current AG Ken Cuccinelli's (R) decision to run for governor rather than seek another term. If not for Cuccinelli, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling would have been the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to succeed current Governor Bob McDonnell. Bolling expressed more disappointment than surprise that Cuccinelli had chose to challenge him in the gubernatorial primary rather than be his lieutenant gubernatorial running-mate, noting "nothing he does surprises me."

Bolling suspended his campaign on November 28, 2012, citing his slim chances beating tea party favorite and attorney general Ken Cuccinelli for the party's nomination. Bolling's withdrawal stems from a decision by Virginia Republicans to change their method for selecting gubernatorial nominees from open primary election to closed nominating convention. Although Bolling was explicit about ending his pursuit of a place on the Republican ticket, he waited until March 12 before ruling out the possibility of running as an independent candidate instead. About the alternative of seeking re-election to his current post, Bolling stated that, “Under normal circumstances, I would be open to the possibility of running for another term as lieutenant governor, but I would not be interested in running on a statewide ticket with Mr. Cuccinelli.” He later said he regretted dropping out of the race as early as he did.

McDonnell had previously pledged his support for Bolling's candidacy- in part because Bolling refrained from challenging McDonnell for governor in 2009. After Bolling bowed out, McDonnell chose to endorse fellow Republican Cuccinelli for his successor, despite Cuccinelli's outspoken opposition to McDonnell's Transportation Initiative, which is considered to be the centerpiece of his gubernatorial legacy. Ironically, Cuccinelli's future general election opponent, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, has been equally outspoken on the issue, but as an advocate and defender of the outgoing governor's approach to amending the state's transportation funding policy.

In response to the major party nominees, the Libertarian Party held a special convention and nominated Robert Sarvis as the party's official gubernatorial candidate.

Like Cuccinelli and Sarvis, McAuliffe faces no primary contest. The three contenders will square off in the general election on November 5, 2013.

Issues

Campaign themes

McAuliffe outlines his plans for handling the following issues, if elected governor, on his official campaign website:

• Jobs and the Economy:

"There are millions of cutting-edge energy jobs waiting to be created, and we need them here in Virginia."

• Education:

"Total funding per student is down even as we’ve got more and more students entering our system. Only 87% of our kids are graduating high school on time. As Governor, I will support our kids and our schools. We’re going to take the best ideas from around the country and give teachers and administrators the resources and freedom they need to make Virginia a global leader in education."

• Transportation:

"Virginia is a great place for business but one of the things holding us back from the top is an infrastructure system that can feel outdated and inefficient."

"By focusing on projects that best serve the economic travel needs of our citizens and businesses — along with key safety improvements — we will ensure that those rail, road, and bridge projects that absolutely must get done do get done. Second, we need to incentivize regional planning and implementation of smart growth planning."

• Healthcare:

"Expanding Medicaid will cover nearly 400,000 uninsured Virginians. Covering the uninsured will also help reduce health care costs for those with insurance already."

• Veterans' Health:

"For their physical health, veterans need better access to services and a state government willing to fight for them with the VA. As Governor I will do everything in my power to provide bridge healthcare services while veterans wait for VA care and I will push for reforms at the federal level to improve this system."

• Women:

"I strongly believe that women should be able to make their own healthcare decisions without interference from Washington or Richmond."

Endorsements

McAuliffe's 2013 gubernatorial campaign has been endorsed by former Virginia House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong.

Polls

Governor of Virginia: Cuccinelli v. McAuliffe
Response	Quinnipiac University (Feb. 14-18, 2013)	Roanoke College Poll (April 8-14, 2013)	Washington Post (Registered Voters) (April 29-May 2, 2013)	Washington Post (Likely Voters) (April 29-May 2, 2013)	NBC News/Marist Poll (April 28-May 2, 2013)	Quinnipiac University (May 8-13, 2013)	Average
Terry McAuliffe (D)	38%	29%	41%	41%	43%	43%	39.17%
Ken Cuccinelli (R)	38%	34%	46%	51%	41%	38%	41.333%
Undecided	21%	38%	13%	8%	16%	17%	18.833%
Number polled	1,112	629	887	663	1,095	1,286	945.33
Margin of error	+/-2.0	+/-3.9%	+/-4.0%	+/-5.0%	+/-3.0%	+/-2.7%	3.43%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

2009

McAuliffe ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Virginia in 2009, losing in the Democratic primary election to State Senator Creigh Deeds.

• 2009 Virginia Gubernatorial Election - Democratic Primary

Governor of Virginia Democratic Primary Election, 2009
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Creigh Deeds	49.8%	158,845
Terry McAuliffe	26.4%	84,387
Brian J. Moran	23.8%	75,936
Total Votes		319,168
Election Results Via: Virginia State Board of Elections

Personal

McAuliffe currently resides in Fairfax, Virginia. He and his wife, Dorothy, have five children: Dori, Jack, Mary, Sally, and Peter.

See also

• Governor of Virginia
• Virginia state executive official elections, 2013

External links

Suggest a link

• Official campaign site
• McAuliffe on Facebook
• Follow McAuliffe's Campaign on Twitter
• McAuliffe's YouTube channel

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile at Facebook
• Profile at Twitter
• Video Channel on YouTube
• Profile at Notable Names Database
• Profile at Wikipedia