Entry 505 of 581
By Blue Prevails On November 16, 2008 at 11:18 PM

Terry McAuliffe, former DNC Chairman, has thrown his hat into the ring for next year’s Gubernatorial race in Virginia. He is well-known in Democratic circles because of his history with the party and his national exposure, lately as campaign chairman for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, but it’s also true that he has picked up both supporters and detractors along the way. Politico’s article, “McAuliffe starts Va. charm offensive” from which these excerpts are taken, outlines his plan for winning the Democratic primary and some of the obstacles he will face:

He's got the charm, cash and connections, but now the consummate Democratic pitchman is facing his toughest sales job in Virginia.

The brassy 51-year-old Syracuse, N.Y., native is preparing to run for governor of Virginia in 2009, a bid that will start with a Hillary-esque 60-day listening tour of the Old Dominion.

McAuliffe’s central strategy is classic Terry-buys-the-drinks: He’s planning an ambitious fundraising campaign on behalf of Virginia’s Democratic establishment…

McAuliffe, though, faces an uphill climb in the primary, confronting a pair of tough, popular opponents who have spent their careers building reputations inside the state: Alexandria County Del. Brian Moran, brother of Rep. Jim Moran, and state Sen. Creigh Deeds, a downstate moderate…

…McAuliffe intends to run as a fairly conventional Democratic campaign on the issues. He says he wouldn’t raise taxes or cut education and health care to cope with the state’s $2.7 billion deficit — and puts the new emphasis on recruiting new businesses to the state.