It seems that former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) is not just traveling all over the country helping Democrats get elected, some think he is running for president. If not, some are trying to prod him into throwing his name into the hat for the 2020 Democratic nomination. A newly-formed political action committee was announced Tuesday that claims they are going to “encourage” the former Virginia governor to run for the nation’s highest office, according to AP.
The group is called “Tenaciously Moving for American Change in 2020,” which has a nickname of – wait for it – “TMac” which is the same as – wait for it – the governor’s nickname. Presumably, all puns are meant to be intended.
Shannon Kane, the PAC’s co-founder, says the group is trying to market McAuliffe in some of the early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire to increase his political clout. Recently, the former governor was in Iowa campaigning with Democrats as they try to win back the Midwestern states that sent Donald Trump to the White House in 2016.
In a report from the Des Moines Register, in a written statement, McAuliffe said Democrats cannot afford “to sit on the sidelines when the heart and soul of our country is on the line.”
McAuliffe, who served as governor from 2014 to 2018, was also a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and is close friends with former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He said that he will decide by late this year or early next year whether to seek the presidential nomination.
Reportedly, McAuliffe quelled the 2020 speculation, releasing a statement that entailed that he was “distancing himself” from the “TMac” PAC, claiming he is focused on helping Democrats take back the nationwide majority.
Republican National Committee (RNC) spokesman Garren Shipley dismissed weeks ago that McAuliffe is what Iowa and the nation needs.
“We’re certain that if Iowa Democrats are looking for suspect economic development deals and all-but-nonexistent due diligence, combined with far-left policy, they could do no better than Terry McAuliffe,” he said according to The Washington Post.