McAuliffe wins Democrat nomination

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Terry McAuliffe, the exuberant former Virginia governor and longtime fixture of Democratic politics, won the party’s nomination Tuesday in his quest for a second term in office.

McAuliffe will go on to face GOP nominee and political newcomer Glenn Youngkin in the November general election.

Virginia is the only state in the nation with an open race for governor this year, and the contest is expected to be closely watched as a barometer of voter sentiment in each party heading into the midterm elections. Virginia Republicans have not won a statewide race in over a decade.

McAuliffe, a longtime Democratic Party fundraiser and a close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, held office from 2014 to 2018. Like all Virginia governors, he was prohibited from seeking a consecutive term. He jumped into the race in December after deciding in 2019 against a run for president.

None of the  three other candidates received over 20% of the vote.

In the Attorney General’s race incumbent AG Mark Herring easily defeated delegate Jay Jones. Herring won by 10 percentage points even though Jones was backed by Governor Ralph Northam.

The winner in the Lt. Governor’s race is likely to be Hala Ayala.  With 85% of the votes in Ayala lead Scott Rasol by 13 percentage points.  There were 6 candidates in that contest.

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