Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, left, announced that he is running for the Democratic nomination for governor in Richmond, Va., on Dec. 9, 2020. McAuliffe was joined by several backers, including Mayor of Richmond Levar Stoney, right. (Bob Brown / Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Virginias Democratic renaissance has largely been powered by womenfemale candidates as well as voters. When Democrats came within a seat of taking the House of Delegates in 2017 (they finished the job in 2019), 11 of 15 victorious challengers were women, including several women of color, propelled by a wave of anti-Trump revulsion. Already two women, both of them African American, have launched campaigns for governor in 2021 (incumbent Ralph Northam can only serve one term). Second-term Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy and 14-year veteran state Sen. Jennifer McClellan made their announcements within days of one another last summer–a historic first for Black women in the former capital of the confederacy.
But when former Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced his intent to seek another term Wednesday (you cant run twice in a row in Virginia; nothing stops him from running now), you could feel a collective sigh of dismay from much of the progressive feminist resistance–in Virginia, and around the country. All of these women have put in all this work–we are living in a completely different state from four years ago, built by women–and now a mans going to step in? asked Ivonne Wallace Fuentes, a historian and founder of one of the earliest Indivisible chapters, in Roanoke, VA.
Its hard to resist a comparison to President-elect Joe Biden, who jumped into the most diverse presidential primary field in history–six women, four of them senators, one of them African American (now his vice-president elect, Kamala Harris); a Black man, a Latino man, an Asian American, a Jewish democratic socialist, a gay mayor and…others. In the end, Bidens strength with older black voters, his rivals own campaign challenges, plus the competition among women as well as candidates of color, ensured his victory. Is McAuliffe about to ride the same dynamics back to Richmond?
Not necessarily. Lots of people caution against declaring the race over just because a popular former governor and national fundraising titan jumped in. This race is still taking shape, says longtime Virginia Democratic activist Carolyn Fiddler of Daily Kos. Fergie Reid Jr. of 90 for 90, which began a Virginia voter registration drive that is partly credited for the states blue turnaround, agrees. Hes gonna have to fight for it. In addition to McClellan and Carroll Foy, the race also includes Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, whose term was marred by accusations of sexual assault by two women, which he has repeatedly denied. Democratic socialist Lee Carter has also filed paperwork to begin fundraising, but hasnt officially joined the race. The Nation will cover several of the candidates as the campaign continues.
Reid emphatically declares this is a great development for the Commonwealth. We have an embarrassment of riches right now: three black people running for governor–and the white guy is getting all the heat! He adds: And the white guys [Carter and McAuliffe] are from opposite ends of the spectrum. It doesnt get any better than that!
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Not everyone is as happy. Some Virginians worry McAuliffe will benefit from divisions among Black voters, and progressive voters, given the existing field. He showcased his appeal to the states Black electorate–a quarter of the total–by launching his campaign alongside exclusively African American leaders, including House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, state Sen. Louise Lucas and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. But Lucas didnt help McAuliffes cause by suggesting to Politico that McClellan and Carroll Foy might be good candidates at the appropriate time. But for right now what we need is Terry McAuliffe, somebody who we know has history with the Black community. He always asks what the Black communitys needs are. Weve got somebody who we know can deliver.
That sounded to a lot of women, black or not, like wait your turn. It also echoed South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburns decisive (and pithier) endorsement of Biden: We know Joe. Joe knows us. But who knows: it could work.Current Issue
To be fair to McAuliffe, he has many admirers — he left the governors office with overwhelming approval — as well as civil rights and womens rights bona fides. Near the end of his term he moved to restore voting rights to 173,000 formerly incarcerated Virginians. He was such a reliable defender of reproductive rights, vetoing ugly GOP anti-abortion laws, that NARAL Pro Choice Virginia gave him its 2017 Brick Wall award. (Ironically, at the groups virtual fundraising gala Wednesday night, his rival McClellan won its legislator of the year award; McAuliffe and Carroll Foy also spoke briefly.) He emerged as one of Virginias leading white voices of outrage after the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally that killed anti-racist protester Heather Heyer. And when Northam was damaged by a blackface scandal, and then Fairfax by sexual assault allegations, McAuliffe stepped in, campaigning and raising money for House and Senate candidates in 2019 when neither of the two top leaders was able (or welcome) to do so. His political action committee was the largest donor to state races in 2019.
So far Carroll Foy has taken the lead in questioning McAuliffes rationale for running. She slightly upstaged him by announcing she was resigning her Prince William County Second District delegate seat the day before he was set to launch his run. She did it, she said, to give Second District voters a full-time delegate — there will be a special election in January — and because its whats best for my family. Running for governor is not conducive to working moms, she told me. Then she dug in:
I come from one of the poorest communities. I was raised by my grandmother. Ive been a foster parent and a public defender. Ive lived a life of service — I dont have wealth. The contrast with the wealthy McAuliffe went unstated, at first. But when I asked her about the core of the former governors pitch — that he has the experience to rescue the state from the coronavirus crisis and the related economic crash — she got more pointed.
I think its an affront to women and people of color who are in this race, to say he can do something we cant do? Carroll Foy called the experience argument coded language and a dog whistle, noting that McAuliffe himself had no elected experience whatsoever when he first ran for governor in 2009 (and lost; he won in 2013). She and McClellan, she notes, have much more government experience than McAuliffe did when he took office almost seven years ago.
At Higher Heights, a national group that advocates for black womens leadership, co-founder Glynda Carr tries to take a tone like Fergie Reids. What this is demonstrating is the black womens leadership bench is wide and deep, she says. She shrugs off concerns that McClellan and Carroll Foy, not to mention Fairfax, will split black voters. Certainly weve never said there are too many white men in any race.
Still, she cant ignore certain parallels with the Democratic presidential primary, when Higher Heights endorsed Kamala Harris early. Were about to see how the diversity and the dynamics that we saw in the presidential race plays out in a gubernatorial race in Virginia, she tells me. Voters say they want diverse leadership, and this race will test their appetite.
Fuentes worries that women, especially, dont have the emotional bandwidth, especially during the pandemic, to deliver the activism necessary to power Carroll Foy or McClellan past McAuliffe. Hes not as progressive as I want, but he has seen that the party has shifted left — it could be that hell dance with us.
Carroll Foy believes Virginias women activists will be there with her. The people I fight for know that Im one of them. Were running the most aggressive grassroots movement this state has ever seen.read more
Is It Really Terry McAuliffe’s Turn in Virginia—Again?
