Democrat McAuliffe May Run for Va. Governor Again

Former National Democratic Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe confirms to Newsmax.TV that he is considering a second run for Virginia governor in 2013.

“I’m always interested in doing something if I can change something,” said McAuliffe, a longtime Democratic strategist also noted for co-chairing President Bill Clinton’s re-election committee in 1996 and chairing Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential election campaign.

“So, if the opportunity in two years is I could be the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia but I can really help people, and create jobs, and do the things I’d get excited about, then of course I’d look at it,” McAuliffe told Newsmax.

Terry McAuliffe campaignes for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2009 with the help of former President Bill Clinton. (Getty Images Photo)

Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that McAuliffe might seek the Democratic nomination for governor, as he did in 2009. He keeps a schedule not unlike most political candidates. He has crisscrossed the state and is scheduled to appear at more than 30 events — mostly fundraisers on behalf of federal, state, and local candidates — this month.

“He’s spending a lot of time touching all the bases around the commonwealth,” Democratic state Rep. Mark Sickles told The Washington Post.

“This is the kind of schedule and introduction to Virginia that he should have done before jumping into the race in 2009,” Sickles said.

That year, McAuliffe lost to State Sen. Creigh Deeds in the Democratic primary. Deeds lost to conservative Republican Bob McDonnell in the general election.


McAuliffe, who was DNC chairman from 2001-2005, is chairman of GreenTech Automotive Inc., an electric and hybrid vehicle company. He says he has created more than 25 successful companies.

McAuliffe also is working to build an operation that creates compressed wood pellets that could be a substitute for coal in power plants. But for now, a gubernatorial bid is not out of the question.

“I think you’d have a hard time trying to figure out what I’m going to be doing a year from today,” he said.

“I go to places where I think I can make a difference. If I can make a difference, I’d certainly entertain it,” he said. “Time will tell.”