McAuliffe Lines Up Hundreds Of Endorsements Ahead Of 2nd Debate

VIRGINIA — As the five Democratic candidates for governor arrive in Bristol for the second of four planned debates, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe stands out for the number of endorsements he has received from a wide range of groups and prominent leaders.

At last count, the former governor has received 325 endorsements since announcing his candidacy in December, far more than any other candidate. Former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy and state Sen. Jennifer McClellan have received an impressive number of endorsements but still trail McAuliffe’s count by a large margin.

The field for Thursday night’s debate is McAuliffe, Carroll Foy, McClellan, Del. Lee Carter and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

The event is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on local television stations, including WJLA 7 in Northern Virginia, and streamed online. The debate will take place at the Bristol Hotel and will be moderated by Mark Hyman and will feature News 5 anchors Paul Johnson and Olivia Bailey, in addition to Radford University professor Theresa Burriss as panelists.

The first debate organized by the Democratic Party was on April 6 at Virginia State University in Petersburg. The third debate will take place on May 20 in the D.C. area and the final debate will be on June 1 in Norfolk.

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Early voting is currently underway and continues until June 5 for the June 8 Democratic primary that will include candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. The Republicans are holding an “unassembled convention” to choose their candidates for the three statewide offices on Saturday.

McAuliffe has received endorsements from Gov. Ralph Northam and many members of the General Assembly and Legislative Black Caucus. His campaign is led by co-Chairs Senate President Pro-Tempore L. Louise Lucas, House Majority Leader Charniele Herring and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

In his bid for a second term as governor — governors in Virginia cannot serve consecutive terms — McAuliffe has also received endorsements from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Laborers’ International Union of North America, UNITE HERE Local 23 and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.