According to the Associated Press, Terry McAuliffe has earned the Democratic nomination to run for governor of Virginia.
BREAKING: Terry McAuliffe wins Democratic nomination for governor in Virginia primary election. #APracecall at 7:44 p.m. EDT. #Election2021 #VAprimary
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) June 8, 2021
McAuliffe was the frontrunner in this race since he joined the race — perhaps since before he even entered the race. He served as Virginia’s governor from 2014-2018. Due to the laws limiting governors to one consecutive term, he could not run again in 2017. But universal name ID and the current governor’s endorsement made it so McAuliffe was still basically able to enjoy the benefits of incumbency in this primary race.
Former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy and state Senator Jennifer McClellan both sought to make history by earning the nomination to potentially become the first Black woman to be governor in the United States, but they were unable to drum up the coalition to compete with McAuliffe.
Del. Lee Carter also ran an insurgent campaign from the left of the other candidates but was unable to gain any traction either. Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax sought the nomination and had a name ID advantage to possibly compete with McAuliffe, but he was unable to get any real support due to lingering rape accusations against him.
The Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin, who was chosen in a closed-party convention on May 8, is releasing two new ads on Wednesday as the race now kicks off. One of the ads uses Carroll Foy’s words from a primary debate against McAuliffe.
McAuliffe is expected to address supporters from Northern Virginia tonight.
Stay tuned for more updates from other races taking place today.
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