Today Terry McAuliffe will win the Democratic nomination for Virginia governor, running unopposed in the primary.
But fear not, partisan rabble-rousers. With a vacuum of intraparty squabbling, America Rising, the conservative PAC whose previous harsh attacks Zeke Miller and I documented last week (along with its liberal counterpart American Bridge), recalls the friendly-fire that sniped down McAuliffe’s first attempt for governor in a new ad.
The spot features clips from 2009 of eventual Democratic nominee Creigh Deeds ripping McAuliffe for making “millions from…high-interest credit card deals.” He “stands with Donald Trump and Wall Street executives,” adds Deeds. McAuliffe’s fundraising success has come in large part as business leaders like Dwight Schar, a co-owner of the Washington Redskins and former RNC finance chairman, warm up to McAuliffe.
“In fact your record for creating jobs must be questioned,” announces former state Democratic Party Chairman Brian Moran—who four years later now is McAuliffe’s campaign co-chairman. “As a consultant for Global Crossing CEO and as a board member of Telergy you walked away with $20 million while over 10 thousand people lost their jobs.”
The spot could hurt McAuliffe, as he tries to combat an image of a Washington insider and Virginia outsider. According to the Virginia-Pilot, of the four men seeking to become lieutenant governor, none supported his gubernatorial campaign four years ago. But McAuliffe,who has nearly double the cash on hand as his Republican opponent, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, and leads the general race by three points, according to the latest Rasmussen poll, does not seem one to hold a grudge.