Decision Virginia

Terry McAuliffe’s swing through Virginia brought him to Richmond today. McAuliffe held a town hall style gathering with around 40-50 people at the Science Museum on Broad Street. The visit was one of 7 different events that McAuliffe is holding to formally kick of his campaign for the democratic nomination for Governor.

In addition to a spirited stump speech, the former DNC chair also took questions from the audience that did not appear to be screened before hand. He kept his speech to issues surrounding the economy and even more specifically jobs. During the q&a, regardless of the query posed,  he found ways to bring the discussion back to how his  business background and energy would lead to new opportunity for Virginians.

Some points he made that I found interesting:

(Most can be found on my twitter page, if you happened to follow that stream)

On not being a native Virginian: “If you are looking for a candidate that was born in Virginia, I am not your guy.” (He then went on to point out that of the candidates for Governor, only Creigh Deeds was born in Virginina)

On working to create jobs in Virginia: “I promise that when I will create more jobs than any of the 49 other governors.”

On highway issues: “I will make sure every lightbulb works on warning signs on the highways.”

To read more about the McAuliffe visit and see video from the event, click here. Read the rest of this entry »

Expect Terry McAuliffe’s tour of Virginia to  get quite a bit of publicity this week. Who he is and the way he jumped into the race makes for incredible political fodder. McAuliffe is expected to visit 7 different locations over the next two days. (He will be in Richmond this morning at 11:30 at the Science Museum, I’ll be there and have coverage later on Decision Virgina and will provide updates on my twitter page.)

But while much will be made of McAuliffe’s “official entry”, it is worth noting that Brian Moran has just finished a similar tour of Virginia. A tour where he picked up several key endorsements from the party faithful and secured plenty of good will in his effort to carry on the mantle of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

Click here, for a recap of Moran’s tour complete with the important officials who gave him their endorsement. The names may not immediately strike a chord, but they could turn out to be vital players in what promises to be an extremely competitive primary.

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