RICHMOND, Va. (AP) \u2014 There could be another McAuliffe representing Virginia soon.<\/p>\n
Dorothy McAuliffe \u2014 the former first lady, onetime state department official and wife of then-Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe \u2014 said Wednesday that she will run for Congress<\/a>, putting a prominent name into the mix for a newly drawn district.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a leader who has a record of delivering and can finally bring down costs for families, who will increase access to affordable healthcare, and who will never back down from holding Donald Trump and ICE accountable,\u201d McAuliffe said in a statement.<\/p>\n Virginia voters are weighing a constitutional amendment<\/a> that would create a new congressional map on April 21.<\/p>\n If the map is approved, McAuliffe would campaign to represent the sprawling 7th District, which stretches from Arlington to western Augusta County. Most of the district\u2019s voters would live just outside Washington, D.C., and it\u2019s one of four new districts that are intended to favor Democrats. <\/p>\n \u201cI look forward to traveling this district \u2014 from Arlington to Augusta and Prince William to Powhatan \u2014 and sharing that vision for this community that I\u2019ve long called home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n An attorney and mother of five, McAuliffe was Virginia\u2019s first lady from 2014 to 2018. During that time, she pushed for childhood nutrition programs and helped tackle a backlog of untested rape kits in the state. <\/p>\n In 2017, the former first lady weighed challenging former Republican U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock, though opted against<\/a> a bid. She became the U.S. State Department\u2019s special representative for global partnerships in 2022 under President Joe Biden\u2019s administration. <\/p>\n