With just days to go until Virginia Democrats choose their nominee for governor on June 8, very little has changed since we initially wrote about this off-year race nearly six months ago — former Gov. Terry McAuliffe remains the far and away favorite to win the nomination yet again come Tuesday.
The five-person field is one reason McAuliffe has been able to remain the frontrunner, along with leaving office four years ago, barred by state law from running for another consecutive term but in strong shape with personal and job approval ratings. That goodwill among Democratic voters has helped boost the former Democratic operative and DNC chairman over two Black women — former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy and state Sen. Jennifer McClellan — who are both running to be the first-ever elected Black female governor not just in the commonwealth but in the country.
McAuliffe has lapped the entire field in fundraising, spending nearly $2.6 million in the pricey D.C. media market alone. Only Carroll Foy has also been able to spend on air here in the crucial
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