Terry McAuliffe, the one-term governor of Virginia and former head of the Democratic National Committee, isn’t spending much time at all thinking about the insurgent Left who will multiply their numbers in Congress following the Democratic sweep of the midterm elections.
The centrist Democrat said the added bonus of a blue wave was securing large enough House and Senate majorities to weaken progressive rabble-rousers and insurgent newcomers hindersome to policy achievements who say the party has a mandate to go “bold.”
“I just want to stress that our win was so big in the House and Senate that factions of our party that may want to cause problems don’t matter anymore, which is a great thing for us,” McAuliffe said Thursday at an event with former Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan at the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington.
“They’ll make noise, but it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter,” he continued.
McAuliffe’s remarks come at a time when socialist candidates were elected up and down the ballot but centrist newcomers padded the incoming Democratic majority. The progressive wing is using Democrats’ strong showings across the map as evidence voters are demanding a more aggressive left-wing agenda while others say a far-left agenda with President Donald Trump still in the White House would be counterintuitive to passing legislation.
Democrats are poised to have a four- to six-seat majority in the Senate and a majority north of 40 in the House, pending uncalled races.
“Don’t try to define us as socialists,” McAuliffe said, citing Democratic wins in longtime GOP strongholds. “[Progressives] should have a voice. It’s a big party. It’s a big town. So be it. I’m just telling you, our numbers are so big.”
McAuliffe was DNC chairman from 2001-05 and Virginia governor from 2014-18. He lost another bid for governor in 2021 to Republican Glenn Youngkin, sparking backlash from the Left that he failed to embrace more progressive policies and energize the Democratic base. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a Democratic Socialists of America member, said at the time that McAuliffe’s “super moderated campaign” did not “excite, speak to, or energize a progressive base and, frankly, we weren’t even really invited to contribute on that race.”
FILE – Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe hugs his wife, Dorothy during a rally in Richmond, Va., Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. McAuliffe will face Republican Glenn Youngkin in the November election. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
" data-large-file="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26069665347421.jpg?w=1024" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26069665347421.jpg?w=1024" alt="Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe hugs his wife, Dorothy during a rally in Richmond, Va., Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. McAuliffe will face Republican Glenn Youngkin in the November election." class="wp-image-4794742" srcset="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26069665347421.jpg 1024w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26069665347421.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AP26069665347421.jpg?resize=768,512 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe hugs his wife, Dorothy, during a rally in Richmond, Virginia, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
As evidence of his reasoning, McAuliffe recalled opposition from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and other progressives in Congress to a bipartisan Biden-era infrastructure bill unless a larger, separate package with more of the Left’s policy priorities was also passed.
“Bernie held up the infrastructure bill five years ago. Remember? Because he wanted that other bill,” McAuliffe said. “That won’t matter today.”
LARRY HOGAN WANTS TO GROW HIS INFLUENCE IN THE GOP AFTER MIDTERM BLOWOUT
Hogan, the centrist former two-term Republican governor of Maryland, agreed with McAuliffe’s take on the impending political dynamics for Democrats while taking a swipe at his own party’s handling of right-wing troublemakers.
“There’s more of the kind of more moderate, more sensible Democrats — at least that’s the way they campaigned — than there are the ones who won in those deep-blue states,” Hogan said. “I think managing all those different viewpoints is the same thing the Republicans had to do, but they usually just follow the most conservative group.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
