McAuliffe gets to work in Virginia

Former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe wasted no time getting to work this week, appearing at an event with Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington) in support of his re-election bid for Virginia’s House of Delegates.

McAuliffe announced last week that he would not run for President in 2020 and would direct his energy towards flipping the General Assembly in this November’s elections.

So far, he is doing just that.

The former Governor, who left office in 2018, also appeared on MSNBC to talk about what he’s focusing on in Virginia and what he believes 2020 presidential candidates should focus on, like reducing healthcare costs and making people’s lives better without requiring political litmus tests.

McAuliffe will no doubt raise the profile of Democratic candidates and put them front and center in 2019, a year where in which Virginia is one of only four states with state legislative races on the ballot. He is also a renowned fundraiser and was broadly popular as governor, which could provide Democrats with a needed boost going into November.

Republicans hold a 51-49 edge in the House of Delegates and a 21-19 edge in the Senate. But after flipping 15 House seats in 2017 and with a newly approved district map in play, Democrats are hopeful they can gain control of both houses of the General Assembly.

If they succeed, it would give the party control of the governorship, House of Delegates and the Senate for the first time the first time since 1993 and a chance to pass the kind of progressive legislation that Republicans have blocked in recent years.