Politics & Government

Fairfax Chamber Endorses McAuliffe for Virginia Governor

Chamber breaks with recent trend of supporting Republicans.

The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce's political arm, NOVABizPAC, endorsed Terry McAuliffe for governor on Thursday - the first time in more than a decade the group has supported a Democrat for governor. 

"I am honored to have the support of the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce," McAuliffe said in a statement. "Our businesses and innovators are the backbone of our economy here in the Commonwealth, and as governor, I will work in a bipartisan way to strengthen education, transportation infrastructure, and workforce development, so we can keep Virginia competitive in the 21st century."

NOVABizPAC endorsed Republican Bob McDonnell for governor in 2009 and Republican Jerry Kilgore for governor in 2005, but this year aligned with McAuliffe on issues such as accepting federal funds for Medicaid expansion in Virginia, and supporting the bipartisan transportation compromise which passed through the Virginia legislature earlier this year. 

The chamber is also backing Democratic state Senator Ralph Northam for lieutenant governor and state Senator Mark Herring for attorney general.

“In terms of the priorities of the Northern Virginia business community, Mr. McAuliffe’s policy positions and proposals closely align with the Fairfax Chamber’s legislative agenda,” Jim Corcoran, the Fairfax Chamber president and CEO and NOVABizPAC trustee, told the Washington Post. 

"Mr. McAuliffe was a major supporter of Governor McDonnell’s landmark transportation funding legislation and a consistent supporter of rail to Dulles," Corcoran continued. "He has also vocalized his opposition to mandatory project labor agreements (PLAs) and he has vowed to veto any attempt to chip away at Virginia’s long-standing right-to-work laws.”

Previously this election season, the Northern Virginia Technology Council's TechPAC endorsed the Republican candidate, Ken Cuccinelli, but NVTC said it would not be making an overall endorsement.

The two gubernatorial candidates debated Wednesday night in McLean. The event was sponsored by the Fairfax Chamber. See details of the somewhat nasty forum here.


TELL US - What do you think of the Chamber's endorsement of McAuliffe? Tell us in the comments below.


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