"Run, Terry, run," chanted Del. Kenneth C. Alexander, D-Norfolk, as former Democratic National Committee chairman and businessman Terry McAuliffe walked down the hallway of the state Capitol today.
"Where do I sign the petition," Alexander joked, referring, of course, to McAuliffe's not-so-secret plans to run for governor in 2013.
But McAuliffe, who heads electric car manufacturer GreenTech Automotive, was more interested in talking renewable energy (it was Renewable Energy Lobby Day at the General Assembly) than personal political prospects.
"No," he said when asked if he'd decided 100 percent to run next year. "We're building businesses, creating jobs, and I think that's the most important thing to focus on this year. I'm going to wait until the 2012 election is over. Once that's done — soon thereafter."
McAuliffe, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination in 2009, is the only Democrat to have publicly expressed interest in a run next year, so far. Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli have announced that they will do battle for the GOP nomination.
Asked whom he'd rather face, McAuliffe laughed.
"I'm just going to have fun watching the two of them go at it," he said.
McAuliffe is also the founder of Franklin Pellets LLC, a wood pellet manufacturer, and is exploring the idea of opening a plant on site of the former International Paper mill in Isle of Wight County. The pellets are meant to substitute for coal in power plants.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement