Terry McAuliffe is reportedly eyeing a run for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2020, according to CNN.
The report has McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor, maneuvering to get into the race next month.
“I get the sense that he is moving closer,” said John Morgan, a McAuliffe friend and well-connected Democratic Party donor, who adds that McAuliffe is “very close” to making the leap into the race.
McAuliffe spokesman Crystal Carson told CNN only that he is “seriously considering” a run, and has not yet made a final decision.
The field of candidates is crowded, with former Vice President Joe Biden and 2016 Democratic nomination runner-up Bernie Sanders at the center of the dais, alongside high-profile Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar, among many others.
McAuliffe is a proven fund-raiser, an obvious strength in a national race, and he left office after his single term as Virginia governor with high approval ratings with voters.
But, he also left without having made much of a name for himself outside of Virginia, and as a former governor has been out of office for 14 months, and has largely been out of the news cycle since the latter half of 2017.
He may also be hamstrung a bit by scandals involving his successor, Ralph Northam, who was lieutenant governor under McAuliffe, the current lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, and Attorney General Mark Herring.
None involve McAuliffe in any way, but his ties to Northam and Herring, who was also attorney general under McAuliffe before winning re-election in 2017, could prove an obstacle on the campaign trail, fair or not.
Story by Chris Graham
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