Former Rep. Tom Perriello (D) announced Thursday he will run to succeed Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) in 2017.
Perriello: “I’m running for Governor of Virginia because our state must be a firewall against hate, corruption and an assault on the Virginia values of decency and progress. That is a wall worth building!”
Perriello promised if elected he would “block … radical redistricting” and “demand better wages, more time with family, paid family leave and better, more affordable education.” (release)
Perriello will campaign in Danville, Charlottesville, Arlington, and Alexandria today. (release)
BIG PICTURE. Spokesmen for McAuliffe and Sens. Tim Kaine (D) and Mark Warner (D) reiterated their support for Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D), for whom “[m]uch of the state’s Democratic leadership is already lined up.”
“A run by … Perriello will expose the tensions between the moderate and progressive wings of the Democratic Party in Virginia, which is increasingly dominant in a once-conservative state.” (New York Times)
“After winning the sprawling, Charlottesville-centered 5th District in 2008, Perriello was closely allied with President Barack Obama due to his unapologetic embrace of Obama’s signature health care overhaul despite the dangers it posed in a Republican-leaning district. Perriello served just one term in Congress before losing the seat to Republican Robert Hurt in the tea party wave of 2010. … After Congress, Perriello worked as president of the progressive Center for American Progress Action Fund. In 2015, the Obama administration appointed him as a special envoy to Africa.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
“Perriello once praised the NRA as the ‘epitome of people-powered politics’ and opposed taxpayer-funded abortion.” (National Journal)
BRING IN THE BIG GUNS. Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart (D) on Thursday announced he has hired Vincent Harris, Rory McShane, Tim Bertram, and Jessie Markell — all of of Harris Media — to run digital media for his campaign. They have previously worked for former state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (D); Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Rob Portman (R-OH); and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (release)