Throughout McAuliffe's term in office, the state had a Republican-controlled legislature and McAuliffe issued a then-record number ofvetoes for a Virginia governor; the record was later surpassed by Youngkin. As governor, McAuliffe focused heavily on economic development andrestored voting rights to a record number of released felons. During his final year in office, he responded to theUnite the Right rally inCharlottesville, condemning the rally and calling for the removal ofConfederate monuments from public spaces throughout Virginia; Northam began the removal of these monuments a few years later.
Early life and education
Terence Richard McAuliffe was born on February 9, 1957, and raised inSyracuse, New York, the son of Mildred Katherine (née Lonergan) and Jack McAuliffe.[7][8] His father was a real estate agent and local Democratic politician. The family is ofIrish descent.[9][10][11]
At the age of 14, McAuliffe started his first business, McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance, sealing driveways and parking lots.[14]
In 1985, McAuliffe helped found the Federal City National Bank, aWashington, D.C.–based local bank.[15] In January 1988, when he was thirty years old, the bank's board elected him as chairman, making him the youngest chairman in theUnited States Federal Reserve Bank's charter association.[16]: 75–76 In 1991, he negotiated a merger with Credit International Bank, which he called his "greatest business experience."[17] He became the vice-chairman of the newly merged bank.[17][18]
In 1979, McAuliffe met Richard Swann, a lawyer who was in charge of the fundraising forJimmy Carter's presidential campaign inFlorida. In 1988, he married Swann's daughter,Dorothy. McAuliffe purchased some of American Pioneer's real estate from the Resolution Trust Corporation. His equal partner in the deal was a pension fund controlled by theInternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and theNational Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). They purchased real estate valued at $50 million for $38.7 million;[17][19] McAuliffe received a 50% equity stake.[19] In 1996, he acquired a distressed housebuilding company, American Heritage Homes, which was on the brink of bankruptcy.[17][20] He served as chairman of American Heritage.[21] By 1998, he had built American Heritage Homes into one of Central Florida's biggest homebuilding companies.[22] By 1999, the company was building more than 1,000 single family homes per year.[23] In late 2002,KB Home bought American Heritage Homes for $74 million.[24]
In 1997, McAuliffe invested $100,000 as an angel investor inGlobal Crossing,[16] aBermuda–registered telecommunications company.[25] Global Crossing went public in 1998.[26] In 1999, he sold most of his holdings for $8.1 million.[27][28]
In 2009, McAuliffe joinedGreenTech Automotive, as a non-executive chairman.[30][31] GreenTech, a holding company, purchased Chineseelectric car companyEU Auto MyCar for $20 million in May 2010.[32] Later that year, he relocated GreenTech's headquarters toMcLean, Virginia, and the manufacturing plant was later based in Mississippi.[33][34][35] In December 2012, he announced his resignation from GreenTech to focus on his run for governor of Virginia.[36][37][38] In 2013, theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigated GreenTech Automotive and McAuliffe for visa fraud.[39] He attempted to gain tax credits from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), the state's business recruitment agency, to build GreenTech Automotive's factory in Virginia.[40] He refused to supply the VEDP with proper documentation of their business strategy and investors, which caused the VEDP to decline economic incentives for GreenTech Automotive. He later falsely claimed during his gubernatorial run that the VEDP was uncooperative and uninterested in GreenTech Automotive.[40]
In 2017, 32 GreenTech Automotive investors from China sued McAuliffe,Anthony Rodham, and others for fraud.[41][42] The plaintiffs alleged that McAuliffe and his co-defendants promised to obtainEB-5 visas for the Chinese plaintiffs in exchange for $560,000 investments from each of them into GreenTech Automotive; however, theDepartment of Homeland Security did not provide the visas due to GreenTech's failure to generate the number of jobs required for the visas to be issued under the EB-5 program.[41][42] In February 2018 the firm declared bankruptcy, and the following month a federal judge dismissed McAuliffe from the lawsuit.[43][44]
According toThe Washington Post, he has "earned millions as a banker, real estate developer, home builder, hotel owner, and internet venture capitalist."[45]
Early political career
Relationship with the Clintons
McAuliffe had a prolific fundraising career within the Democratic Party and a personal and political relationship withBill andHillary Clinton.[17] McAuliffe and his staff raised $275 million, then an unprecedented amount, for Clinton's causes while president. After Bill Clinton's tenure ended, he guaranteed the Clintons' $1.35 million mortgage for their home inChappaqua, New York. The deal raised ethical questions.[46][47] In 1999, he served as chairman of America's Millennium Celebration under Clinton.[48] In 2000, he chaired a fundraiser with the Clintons to benefit Vice PresidentAl Gore, setting a fundraising record of $26.3 million.[49]
McAuliffe told toThe New York Times in 1999, "I've met all of my business contacts through politics. It's all interrelated." When he meets a new business contact, he continued, "Then I raise money from them."[17] He acknowledged that the success of his business dealings stemmed partly from his relationship with Bill Clinton, saying, "No question, that's a piece of it." He also credited his ties to former congressmenDick Gephardt andTony Coelho, hisRolodex of 5,000-plus names, and his ability to personally relate to people.[17] In 2004, he was one of the five-member board of directors of theClinton Foundation.[50] He remained on the board until 2013, re-joining it in 2024.[51] He toldNew York Times reporterMark Leibovich in 2012 that his Rolodex held 18,632 names.[52]
2000 Democratic National Convention
In June 2000, as organizers of the2000 Democratic National Convention were working to raise $7 million, convention chairmanRoy Romer resigned to become superintendent of theLos Angeles Unified School District. McAuliffe immediately accepted appointment as Romer's replacement when asked on a phone call by presumptive presidential nomineeAl Gore. Already in the news for a record $26 million fundraiser with Bill Clinton the month prior, he promised that money would be a "non-issue" for the convention, and that the outstanding $7 million would be raised "very quickly".[46] Many in the party praised his selection, which was widely seen to represent the growth in his influence, withJames Carville tellingThe New York Times that "his stock is trading at an all-time high".[53][54]
Chair of the Democratic National Committee
In February 2001, McAuliffe was elected chairman of theDemocratic National Committee (DNC) and served until February 2005.[55] During his tenure, the DNC raised $578 million and emerged from debt for the first time in its history.[56] Prior to serving as chairman of the DNC, he served as chairman of the DNC Business Leadership Forum in 1993 and as the DNC finance chairman in 1994.[57][16]: 88, 210
In 2001, McAuliffe founded the Voting Rights Institute.[58] In June 2001, he announced the founding of the Hispanic Voter Outreach Project to reach more Hispanic voters.[16]: 296–297 The same year, he founded the Women's Vote Center to educate, engage and mobilize women at the local level to run for office.[59][16]: 297
In the period between the elections of 2002 and the2004 Democratic convention, the DNC rebuilt operations and intra-party alliances. McAuliffe worked to restructure the Democratic primary schedule, allowingArizona,Michigan,New Mexico, andSouth Carolina to vote earlier; the move provided African-American and Hispanic/Latino communities as well as labor unions greater inclusion in presidential primaries. According toThe Washington Post, the move bolstered United States SenatorJohn Kerry's fundraising efforts.[60] The DNC rebuilt its headquarters and McAuliffe built the Democratic Party's first National Voter File, a computer database of more than 175 million names known as "Demzilla."[61][62] During the 2004 election cycle, the DNC hosted six presidential debates for the first time.[63]
As chairman, McAuliffe championed direct mail and online donations and built a small donor base that eliminated the party's debt and, according toThe Washington Post, "could potentially power the party for years".[64] Under his leadership, the DNC raised a total of $248 million from donors giving $25,000 or less during the 2003–2004 election cycle.[65]
In January 2005, a few weeks before his term ended, McAuliffe earmarked $5 million of the party's cash to assistTim Kaine and other Virginia Democrats in their upcoming elections. This donation was the largest non-presidential disbursement in DNC history, and was part of his attempt to prove Democratic viability inSouthern states in the wake of the 2004 presidential election.[66] Kaine was successful in his bid, and served as thegovernor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010.
Post-DNC
McAuliffe with staffers and volunteers at Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign headquarters
On November 10, 2008, McAuliffe formed an exploratory committee for theVirginia gubernatorial election in 2009.[70] According toThe Washington Post, he believed he would prevail "because he [could] campaign as a business leader who can bring jobs to Virginia."[70] He also cited his ability to raise money for down-ticket Democratic candidates.[70]
On November 8, 2012, McAuliffe emailed supporters announcing his intention to run for governor of Virginia in 2013. In his email he stated, "It is absolutely clear to me that Virginians want their next Governor to focus on job creation and common sense fiscal responsibility instead of divisive partisan issues."[73]
On April 2, 2013, McAuliffe became the Democratic nominee, as he ran unopposed.[74] In the general, he campaigned against Republican nominee (and sitting attorney general of Virginia)Ken Cuccinelli, and Libertarian nomineeRobert Sarvis. He won 47.8% of the vote; Cuccinelli and Sarvis garnered 45.2% and 6.5%, respectively.[1] He broke a 40-year trend and was the first candidate of the sitting president's party elected governor of Virginia since 1973.[75]
Tenure
McAuliffe and the inaugural VSP Capital Campout, 2015
McAuliffe took the oath of office on January 11, 2014. Following the ceremony, he signed fourexecutive orders, including one instituting aban on gifts over $100 to members of the administration,[76] and an order prohibiting discrimination against state employees for sexual orientation and gender identity.[77] The other executive orders dealt withgovernment continuity.[77]
As governor, McAuliffe issued a record 120 vetoes.[78] He vetoed more bills than his three predecessors combined.[79] He vetoed bills mainly concerning social legislation, including abortion andLGBT rights, along with the environment and voting rights.[80][78] Throughout his term, the state legislature did not overturn any of the vetoes he issued.[81][82] During his tenure, Virginia collected more than $20 billion in new capital investment, $7 billion more than any previous governor.[83][84] He participated in more than 35 trade and marketing missions to five continents, more than any other preceding governor, to promote state tourism and other products.[85]
During his term, unemployment fell from 5.7% to 3.3% and personal income rose by 14.19%.[92]PolitiFact noted McAuliffe, like many other governors, had little control over their state's economic performance, with Virginia's economy following national trends.[93] That year, he was named Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine.[94] He was also named one of StateScoop's State Executives of the year.[95][96] From 2015 and even into 2021, he has repeated false claims that he "inherited" a budget deficit for his tenure, when in fact the previous governor left two balanced budgets bills based on anticipated revenues, but subsequent economic issues caused revenue to fall.[97][98]
After the Republican-controlledVirginia House of Delegates blocked his plans to expand Medicaid, McAuliffe unveiled his own plan titled "A Healthy Virginia." He authorized four emergency regulations and issued one executive order allowing for use of federal funds (made available by theAffordable Care Act to any state seeking to expand its Medicaid program to increase the number of poor citizens who had access to health insurance).[101] His last hope for full Medicaid expansion ended when a Democratic state senator,Phillip Puckett ofRussell County, resigned from his Republican-leaning seat. As a result, Virginia Democrats' razor-thin majority in the state senate flipped in favor of the Republicans, giving them control of both chambers of the state's legislature.[102]
Economic development
McAuliffe with CEO of Dominion Resources Inc. Thomas F. Farrell II and Secretary of the NavyRay Mabus, after signing a ceremonial solar panel, August 2, 2016
He helped close a deal to bringStone Brewing to Richmond[103] and landed a $2 billion paper plant in the Richmond suburbs. He helped broker a deal with theCorporate Executive Board to move its global headquarters inArlington which created 800 new jobs.[104] He worked on deals to restore service inNorfolk fromCarnival Cruise Lines andAir China service toDulles International Airport.[105] In February 2016, he announced that Virginia was the first state to functionally end veteran homelessness.[106] In 2017, he announced thatNestle USA was moving its headquarters from California to Virginia. He had worked with the company for more than a year to secure the move.[107][108] He also helped with bringing Amazon's second headquarters to Virginia in 2018.[109]
Voting rights
In April 2016, McAuliffe signed an executive order restoring voting rights to more than 200,000 ex-offenders in Virginia who had completed their prison sentences and periods of parole or probation. The order allowed this group to register to vote.[110][111] Virginia was, at the time, one of 12 states withlifetime felon disenfranchisement, barring ex-offenders from voting even after their sentences are complete.[112]
McAuliffe's order was initially overturned by theSupreme Court of Virginia, which ruled that theConstitution of Virginia did not allow the governor to grant blanket pardons and restorations of rights.[113] In August 2016, he announced that he had restored the voting rights to almost 13,000 felons individually using anautopen.[114][115][111] Republican leadership in the state filed a contempt-of-court motion against McAuliffe for the action, which the court dismissed.[116][117] By the end of his term, he had restored voting rights for 173,000 released felons, more than any governor in U.S. history.[112] The blanket restoration was controversial; several DemocraticCommonwealth's Attorneys opposed McAuliffe's blanket restoration, including Theo Stamos of Arlington County and Falls Church City, Ray Morrogh of Fairfax County, and Paul Ebert of Prince William County. Progressive challengers Steve Descano and Parisa Dehghani-Tafti supported by McAuliffe defeated Stamos and Morrogh, respectively, inprimary elections in 2019; Ebert retired.[118][119]
FBI investigation
On May 23, 2016,CNN reported that theFederal Bureau of Investigation was investigating McAuliffe "over whether donations to his gubernatorial campaign violated the law." One example cited was a $120,000 donation from Chinese businessman Wang Wenliang. No action was taken, as Wang's status as a legal permanent resident of the United States could make the donation legal under U.S. election law.[120]
Immigration
On January 31, 2017, McAuliffe appeared with Attorney GeneralMark Herring to announce that Virginia was joining the lawsuitAziz v. Trump, challenging PresidentDonald Trump's immigration executive order.[121] On March 27, 2017, he vetoed a bill that would have preventedsanctuary cities in Virginia.[122][123][124]
While describing himself as "personally opposed" to death penalty,[125] McAuliffe presided over thethree last executions carried in Virginia, before it was abolished in 2021 under his successor Ralph Northam.[126] He also commuted two death sentences, that of Ivan Teleguz and William Joseph Burns.[127]
Unite the Right rally
McAuliffe was governor during theUnite the Right rally in Charlottesville Virginia. He condemned the rally saying, "I have a message to all the white supremacists and the Nazis who came into Charlottesville today. Our message is plain and simple: Go home. . . . There is no place for you here, there is no place for you in America."[128] Although at the start of his governorship, McAuliffe was opposed to removing Confederate monuments from public spaces, he reversed his position after the rally.[128] Skepticism remains over his role in how the police initially responded to the rally, and whether he allowed the conflict to escalate for political purposes.[129]
Pardons
McAuliffe pardoned 227 people during his tenure, the most of any Virginia governor, and three times as many as his predecessorBob McDonnell.[130] In 2017, he granted pardons to theNorfolk Four, a group ofU.S. Navy sailors who werewrongly convicted of a 1997 rape and murder and were declaredactually innocent by a federal court in 2016.[131][132] He rejected an application for pardon byJens Söring, who had been convicted for double murder.[133] In January 2018, McAuliffe pardoned 6 Virginians who were given excessive sentences, including Travion Blount, who was convicted and given six life sentences at age 15 for robbery.[134]
Post-governorship
After the 2016 presidential election, McAuliffe was viewed as a potential candidate for theDemocratic nomination for president in 2020.[135][136] In 2017, McAuliffe's confidantes toldThe Hill he was "seriously considering a 2020 presidential run."[137] McAuliffe told a group of union leaders "If I can wrestle an alligator, I can certainly wrestle Donald Trump," referencing his wrestling match with an alligator to secure a political donation. In April 2019, McAuliffe announced that he would not pursue the presidency in 2020 and would focus on supporting Democrats in the2019 Virginia elections.[138]
In January 2022, after losing his re-election bid for Governor, a website was launched for Common Good, an organization founded by McAuliffe to "[help] Democratic campaigns and organizations win critical races in Virginia and across the country."[141]
In 2025, former president Joe Biden appointed McAuliffe to the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Shortly after, Trump revoked the appointment.[142][143]
McAuliffe joined Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future as a co-chair in November 2025. The organization advocates for the use of natural gas as part of the United States’ broader energy-transition strategy.[144]
Despite the extreme rarity of second-term governors in Virginia (which only allows former governors to run for governor again after another has served in that role)[145][146] — and despite calls from within Virginia's Democratic party for McAuliffe to stand aside in the 2021 governors' race, to allow two black female Democratic legislators to compete to become the nation's first black woman governor[146][147] — in December 2020, McAuliffe announced his campaign for governor.[145][147]
On June 8, 2021, he won the Democratic primary, garnering 62% of the vote, defeating four other candidates,[6] and winning each city and locality in the state.[148]
General election
In the general election, McAuliffe faced RepublicanGlenn Youngkin. Their first debate was canceled after Youngkin refused to attend, citing his objection to moderatorJudy Woodruff over a donation she made to theClinton Bush Haiti Fund in 2010.[149] McAuliffe and Youngkin ultimately debated twice, trading attacks.[150] The race was costly, with both sides' campaigns and outside groupsraising and spending tens of millions of dollars.[150][151]
Consistent with his past campaigns, McAuliffe had a backslapping, gregarious campaign style.[148] McAuliffe campaigned on his economic record from his term as governor,[152] supporting infrastructure improvements, voting rights,[153] andJoe Biden'sAmerican Rescue Plan.[154]
Education policy was an important factor in the election. McAuliffe criticized Youngkin for running a campaign ad with a supporter who attempted tobanToni Morrison's novelBeloved from Virginia schools.[155][156][157]
When asked during a debate to explain his veto of a bill that, in the words ofThe Washington Post, would have allowed "parents to remove books they objected to from school libraries or curriculums", McAuliffe responded, "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach".[158] Although this comment proved unpopular with voters,The Washington Post published an analysis finding that McAuliffe's stance on education likely had little impact on how parents voted. In election exit polls, more than 8 in 10 voters said parents should have at least some input into what schools teach; McAuliffe won with this group of voters, but Youngkin won with voters who said parents should have "a lot" of input into what schools teach. However, exit polls found that both groups swung by the same margin to the right from 2020.[158]
During his campaign, McAuliffe repeatedly cited inflated numbers of the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the state and the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state,[159] while Youngkin made various false and misleading claims about McAuliffe's positions and record.[160][161][162]
Major Democratic figures campaigned with McAuliffe, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama,Stacey Abrams, andKamala Harris.[163][164] Televisionattack ads by both candidates contained false or misleading statements.[165]
The race had been seen as a toss-up, with polling ahead of Election Day showing the candidates in adead heat.[166]
In the general election, Youngkin defeated McAuliffe with 50.6% of the vote. McAuliffe received 48.6% of the vote, losing by about 64,000 votes.[167]
Political positions
McAuliffe meeting with Maryland governorLarry Hogan in 2017
McAuliffe has argued for workforce development, with education proposals being funded through savings from the proposed Medicaid expansion.[172]
In his 2013 gubernatorial campaign, McAuliffe pledged to deemphasize the number ofstandardized tests in schools and reduce the number of them. The General Assembly passed a bipartisan bill in 2015, signed by McAuliffe, that directed theVirginia Board of Education to adopt new accreditation standards that "recognize the progress of schools that do not meet accreditation benchmarks but have significantly improved their pass rates."[173] In 2017, the board, which primarily consisted of McAuliffe appointees, implemented the law and made significant changes to the criteria for accreditation, including reducing the number of standardized tests required for graduation and adding metrics such asabsenteeism,achievement gaps, and improvement on the state exams.[173]
In 2016, McAuliffe vetoed a bill that would have allowed parents to block books containing "sexually explicit content" in schools; the bill was known as the "Beloved bill" because its supporters cited theToni Morrison novel (as well as other books, such asRalph Ellison'sInvisible Man andCormac McCarthy'sThe Road) as examples of objectionable works. Republicans and theFamily Foundation of Virginia supported the bill; theNational Council of Teachers of English and theNational Coalition Against Censorship opposed it.[174][175] McAuliffe vetoed a similar bill in 2017.[176] In 2017, McAuliffe also vetoed Republican-backed legislation to increase the number ofcharter schools; in vetoing the bill, McAuliffe cited its removal of authority from local school boards to make decisions about local public schools and expressed concern about diverting funding from public schools.[176]
In his 2009 campaign, McAuliffe said, "I want to move past coal. As governor, I never want another coal plant built."[181] In his 2013 campaign, he supported tougher safety requirements on coal plants.[168] He also announced his support for theEnvironmental Protection Agency'sClean Power Plan, which would limit the amount ofcarbon dioxide that could be emitted by power plants, making it difficult to build new coal-fired plants and to keep old ones operating.[182]
McAuliffe supportsuniversal background checks for gun sales,[186][187] and while governor called for "a renewal of the state's one-a-month limit on handgun purchases...a ban on anyone subject to a protection-from-abuse order from having a gun and the revoking of concealed-handgun permits for parents who are behind on child-support payments."[187] A one-handgun-a-month law was enacted in 2020, under the governorship of successor Ralph Northam.[188] McAuliffe has also called for anassault weapons ban in Virginia.[189] He is a hunter and owns several shotguns.[190]
In January 2016, McAuliffe reached a compromise with Republicans, allowing interstate holders ofconcealed carry permits in Virginia, nullifying Attorney GeneralMark Herring's previous ruling, effective February 1, 2016. The deal will also take guns from domestic abusers and will require state police to attend gun shows to provide background checks upon request from private sellers.[191]
Healthcare
McAuliffe supports theAffordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He supports expandingMedicaid, arguing that taxes Virginians pay would return to Virginia.[168]
Impeachment
In August 2018, McAuliffe stated "that's something we ought to look at", referring toPresident Trump's impeachment. He argued that if "President Obama had gone toHelsinki and done what President Trumphad done, you would already have impeachment hearings going on."[192]
Law enforcement
In 2021, according to PolitiFact, McAuliffe made a "full flop" onqualified immunity, initially supporting its repeal when attempting to win the support of Democrats in the primary before reversing course in the general election.[193]
While running for governor in 2013, McAuliffe declared his support for same-sex marriage, becoming the first candidate to do so.[196][197] In 2014, he became the first Virginia governor to preside over a same-sex wedding ceremony.[198]
McAuliffe declared his support for transgender students during his campaign in 2021.[199]
Transportation
McAuliffe supported the bipartisan transportation bill that passed theGeneral Assembly in 2013. He was in favor of theSilver Line, which expandedMetrorail services into Fairfax and Loudoun counties.[200] In May 2011, according to PolitiFact, he made a "pants on fire" claim when he stated Virginia has no mechanism to repay transportation bonds; the commonwealth does in fact have one.[201]
In 2016, McAuliffe helped propose and secure a $165 million federal FASTLINE grant, which was put toward theAtlantic Gateway Project.[202] In 2018, McAuliffe announced a deal that involved adding 10 miles of express lanes to the 1-95 corridor. The project was completed in 2022.[203]
His memoir,What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals, was published in 2007 withSteve Kettmann and madeThe New York Times Best Seller list, debuting at No. 5 in February 2007.[210] Among anecdotes told in the memoir was McAuliffe wrestling an eight-foot, 260-pound alligator for three minutes to secure a $15,000 contribution for PresidentJimmy Carter in 1980.[211] He and the alligator would appear on the cover ofLife magazine.[211] Others included hunting with KingJuan Carlos of Spain, golf outings with President Bill Clinton, and reviving the Democratic National Convention.[212] McAuliffe also wrote about theSeptember 11 attacks and his experiences in the Democratic National Committee office immediately after.[213]
In 2019, McAuliffe wrote a second book in the aftermath of theUnite the Right rally, entitledBeyond Charlottesville, Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism.[214][215] In August 2019, the book madeThe New York Times Best Seller list.[216]
^Tomaino, Joseph (Fall 2014)."Forum"(PDF).The Catholic University of America Magazine: 3.Archived(PDF) from the original on January 19, 2015. RetrievedJanuary 18, 2015.
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