Former Virginia first lady joins growing Democratic primary as voters weigh redistricting amendment that could reshape the district.
Dorothy McAuliffe, a former Virginia first lady and State Department official, announced Wednesday that she is running for Congress in Virginia’s anticipated 7th congressional District, joining a growing field of Democratic candidates in a race that could take shape if voters approve a new congressional map next month.
McAuliffe, 62, launched her campaign with a message centered on lowering costs for families and expanding access to health care, while also pledging to advocate for children and military families. Her candidacy adds another prominent name to what is expected to be a competitive Democratic primary.
“Virginians are working harder than ever, but the middle class is still out of reach for too many,” McAuliffe said in her campaign announcement. “We 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.”
Virginia voters are scheduled to decide April 21 on a constitutional amendment that would create a new congressional map. If approved, the proposal would temporarily redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the 2026 elections.
The proposed map would create several new districts intended to favor Democrats.
One of those would be a reconfigured 7th District stretching from Arlington in Northern Virginia west to Augusta County in the Shenandoah Valley, with most voters living in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.
If the measure passes, McAuliffe said she plans to campaign across the sprawling district.
“It should not be that complicated: Families and children should be at the center of every decision we make in Washington. I look forward to traveling this district — from Arlington to Augusta and Prince William to Powhatan — and sharing that vision for this community.”
The wife of Virginia’s 72nd governor and mother of five also honed in on her work fighting childhood hunger statewide and said she would use her seat in Congress to amplify the voices of working families.
“I’m a proud mom of five and a new grandmother, and right now, I’m worried about the future of all our children. Throughout my career I have been honored to serve our Commonwealth and our country, and deliver for neighbors and everyday people who do not have a voice in the halls of power in Richmond or Washington.”
McAuliffe is entering a crowded primary field that is already beginning to take shape.
Last month, four-term Virginia Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, and former federal prosecutor J.P. Cooney, who served as a deputy to special counsel Jack Smith and was later fired by Trump, launched campaigns in the district.
State Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Prince William, who was elected the first Latina immigrant in the General Assembly, has also said she is considering a run.
McAuliffe’s campaign also released a list of early endorsements that includes several prominent Democratic figures in Virginia, including Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry and former House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn. The campaign said she is also backed by former Secretary of Education and Richmond School Board member Anne Holton, along with former Virginia first ladies Pamela Northam, Lisa Collis and Lynda Johnson Robb.
McAuliffe previously weighed running for Congress in 2017 against then-U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock, a Republican, but ultimately decided against it. In 2022, she joined the administration of President Joe Biden as the U.S. State Department’s special representative for global partnerships.
Before that, McAuliffe served as Virginia’s first lady from 2014 to 2018 during the administration of her husband, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
During that time, she led the commonwealth’s No Kid Hungry Virginia campaign, which focused on expanding access to school breakfast, summer meals and after-school nutrition programs. Her office said the initiative helped expand school breakfast programs statewide, resulting in more than 12 million additional breakfasts served to Virginia students.
McAuliffe also worked on efforts addressing sexual assault and domestic violence, including a partnership with the Virginia attorney general’s office aimed at eliminating the state’s backlog of untested sexual assault kits.
In addition, she worked with lawmakers on legislation directing additional funding to school districts serving children from military families.
McAuliffe said she plans to begin campaigning across the district immediately, starting with a four-day tour beginning Saturday that will include 16 public stops across every locality in the district.
She and her husband have lived in Fairfax County for 34 years. As a U.S. Marine Corps mother, McAuliffe said she is particularly focused on the needs of military families.