Looking Ahead to the 2019 and 2020 Elections: A Talk with Governor Terry McAuliffe

Background: Terry McAuliffe was elected the 72nd Governor of Virginia in November 2013. In December 2017, McAuliffe was named “Public Official of the Year” by GOVERNING magazine. He currently serves as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. During his four year term as Governor, his public service accomplishments were extensive:

- Restored the rights of more than 173,000 Virginians who has been convicted of felonies and had paid their debt to society;
- Reduced the population of young people in state-operated Juvenile Correctional Centers by two-thirds;
- Reduced unemployment from 5.4% to 3.6%;
- Increased investment in public and higher education through bipartisan increase of $1 billion;
- Grew infrastructure investment with $10 billion in new roads, port, and airport projects;
- Won bipartisan support for comprehensive gun legislation (had been 24 years before last legislation);
- Successfully vetoed a record 120 bills that would have taken Virginia backwards (And thereby he protected women’s access to health care, Virginia's environment, and the integrity of the electoral system.)

In politics and business, McAuliffe has worked with people from all walks of life and different political backgrounds. He entered national politics at the age of 23 as the national finance director for President Jimmy Carter. He was elected Democratic National Committee chairman in 2000 and served until 2005. He co-chaired President Bill Clinton's 1996 campaign for reelection and his 1997 Presidential Inauguration. He was also chairman of the 2000 Democratic National Convention and chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 Presidential Campaign.

McAuliffe and his wife Dorothy were married in 1988. They have five children.