The race for Virginia’s governor is heating up, and now yet another Democrat is jumping into the race: Senator Jennifer McClellan of Richmond.
The Democratic primary for governor is getting crowded. Attorney General Mark Herring and Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax have already announced their interest in running. And back in May Delegate Jennifer Carroll-Foy announced her campaign and now state Senator Jennifer McClellan says she’s running, too.
Quentin Kidd at Christopher Newport University says it’ll be a challenge for McClellan to stand out.
“She’s going to champion issues, for example, that Justin Fairfax has championed. She’s going to champion issues that Mark Herring has championed. She’s going to present a biography that Jennifer Carroll-Foy can present in part," Kidd explains. "There are areas where Jennifer McClellan is going to be stepping on top of the same ground as other candidates.”
Kidd also says the field is getting so crowded so early because many people expect former Governor Terry McAuliffe to throw his hat into the ring and drown out all the rest of the candidates.
But Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says McAuliffe might end up in a Biden administration.
“One of the things to consider is that this field may change after November 2020," he says. "If there’s a Democratic president, it may very well be the case that some of these very prominent Democrats now in the race for governor may end up being offered opportunities in Washington, and that may adjust the field.”
One thing to remember about the Democratic primary for governor, it’s in June 2021, a year away. So far, the only Republican running in the race is Senator Amanda Chase.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
