Terry McAuliffe made it official last night: he’s forgoing a run for President in order to step in and raise money for Virginia Democrats.

Democrats have good reason to call in outside help. Governor Ralph Northam, Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax, and Attorney General Mark Herring have all had their fundraising operations — traditionally a major source of funding for legislative candidates of the Governor’s party — hobbled by their respective scandals.

House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert issued the following statement:

“We are very interested to see which message Terry McAuliffe will carry for Virginia Democrats. The message that he would ‘absolutely not’ support Del. Kathy Tran’s late term abortion bill, or that he ‘would not veto’ that bill if he were still governor?

“Will Governor McAuliffe continue to lead the charge in favor of natural gas pipelines  or will he join Democrat activists attempting to stop them at every turn? Will he continue to say that the Green New Deal is ‘unrealistic,’ or will he join the 32 Democrat legislators and candidates who continue to back the proposal unabashedly?

“We look forward to hearing whichever message Governor McAuliffe chooses to carry on the campaign trail.”

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