Dorothy McAuliffe, Virginia’s former first lady, announced Wednesday that she plans to run for Congress, placing a prominent Democratic figure into the race for a newly drawn district that would take effect only if a redistricting measure clears voters.
McAuliffe said in a statement that she is seeking the seat as Virginia prepares for a constitutional amendment vote on April 21 that would create a new congressional map. She tied her candidacy to priorities including lowering costs for families, increasing access to affordable health care, and “never” backing down from holding Donald Trump and ICE accountable, according to her statement.
If the amendment is approved, McAuliffe would campaign for Virginia’s 7th District. The district is described as spanning a wide area from Arlington to western Augusta County, with most voters living just outside Washington, D.C., and as one of four new districts intended to favor Democrats.
McAuliffe said she expects to travel across the district if the map becomes law, describing it as covering places including Arlington and Augusta and parts of Prince William and Powhatan. She framed the outreach as sharing a vision for the community she said she has long called home.
The former first lady, an attorney and mother of five, served as Virginia’s first lady from 2014 to 2018. During that period, she pushed for childhood nutrition programs and helped tackle a backlog of untested rape kits in the state, according to the AP report.
In 2017, McAuliffe weighed challenging then-incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock, but opted against a bid. She later became the U.S. State Department’s special representative for global partnerships in 2022 during President Joe Biden’s administration, the report said.
McAuliffe’s entry comes as Democrats and potential rivals prepare for the primary in the event the district map is implemented. The AP report said that last month, four-term Virginia Del. Dan Helmer and former federal prosecutor J.P. Cooney—who served as a deputy to special counsel Jack Smith and was fired by Trump—launched campaigns in the district.
The AP report also said State Del. Elizabeth Guzman, elected as the first Latina immigrant in the General Assembly, has indicated she was weighing a run. McAuliffe and other candidates would be able to adjust their plans if the redistricting measure is not approved or if the new map is thrown out by the Virginia Supreme Court, the report said.