1. Republicans will have a hard time portraying Democrats as dangerous socialists. That seems to be the favorite Republican line these days, but it wonât work here. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe is a corporate-friendly Democrat who, as governor, stood alongside Dominion Energy executives to endorse the now-abandoned Atlantic Coast Pipeline. (He also endorsed, and presumably still endorses, the Mountain Valley Pipeline.) The actual socialist in the field, Lee Carter, couldnât even muster 3% of the vote (and was a double loser because he lost his renomination campaign for the House of Delegates, as well). In all previous gubernatorial elections (with the exception of Mills Godwin in 1973), voters have had to guess what kind of governor the candidate will be.