Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has filed the paperwork to run for his old office.

McAuliffe filed with Virginia’s Board of Elections on Wednesday. But he won’t make an official decision to run until after the general election in November, in which McAuliffe is actively campaigning for fellow Democrats. 

“He’s not making any decisions on 2021 until after we beat Trump and elect Democrats up and down the ticket in Virginia,” McAuliffe spokesperson Brennan Bilberry told DCist/WAMU. 

McAuliffe left office in 2018, as Virginia does not allow governors to serve consecutive terms. But he has maintained a high profile since. Should he enter the race, political scientist Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington says McAuliffe would be “the odds-on favorite to win the nomination.” 

“He’s well known in the state, he’s able to raise a huge amount of money, and—for the Democratic primary voters, who would prefer someone else—they will be going in very different directions in this wild field,” Farnsworth said. 

McAuliffe’s potential return to governing has caused a stir among some Democrats. The state’s Democratic Party has grown increasingly diverse in recent years, and McAuliffe would face three Black candidates in a primary.

So far, McAuliffe’s rivals include Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Prince William), state Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) and Attorney General Mark Herring (D). 

Political scientist Jatia Wrighten at Virginia Commonwealth University says a McAuliffe candidacy could present a challenge particularly for Carroll Foy and McClellan.

“I think there’s going to be an interesting dynamic between the two Black women who are running, but then, adding in Terry McAuliffe into the mix—I think he can really run on his name alone which is very different to the other Black women who are running currently,” Wrighten says.

The two candidates were quick to paint McAuliffe as outdated for the state. 

“This is the moment where the politics of yesterday won’t do. We must decide: are we content reliving the past? Or are we ready to build a better Virginia?” Carroll Foy said in a statement. 

“This election is going to be about which candidate has the vision for Virginia’s future, not trying to relive the past,” McClellan’s political director Nichole Wescott Hayes wrote to DCist/WAMU.

Even without a gubernatorial bid, McAuliffe will remain highly visible. He raised nearly $1.7 million for his PAC, Common Good VA, in the first half of 2020, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. A former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, McAuliffe told VPM he is on as many as ten Zoom calls a day to supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden. Such vigorous support can sometimes earn a cabinet post, but McAuliffe has hinted he’d rather serve in Richmond than in Washington.

“I like executive leadership,” McAuliffe said. “You never say never, but being in someone’s cabinet — I’m not sure that’s the best use of my time.”

As governor from 2014-2018, McAuliffe restored voting rights to a record number of formerly incarcerated people. Republican legislators blocked his efforts to expand Medicaid, although Democrats in the General Assembly later successfully broadened the program. Virginia does not allow governors to run for a second consecutive term.

So far, only state Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) has filed to run in the Republican primary. Former House Speaker Del. Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) and entrepreneur Pete Snyder are reportedly considering joining the race, while U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) has said he may run as an independent after losing to a more conservative primary challenger for Congress.

McAuliffe’s profile in Virginia was further bolstered when his successor, current Gov. Ralph Northam (D), faced calls to resign over a medical school yearbook page that contained a photo of people in a KKK hood and blackface. Northam remained in office but pledged to promote racial equality. In a remarkable turn, Attorney General Herring admitted that he, too, had worn blackface. Lt. Gov. Fairfax also withstood calls for resignation after two women alleged he had sexually assaulted them, which he denies.

As all three of Virginia’s top Democrats fought to restore their images amid a legislative election, McAuliffe stepped into the vacuum. At the time, he told WAMU he was thinking about potentially returning to his old seat. 

“We’ll see what happens in 2021,” McAuliffe said then. “I will say this. I loved being governor.”