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Governor Elect: First Order of Business

Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe says his first order of business after a very contentious campaign is to call lawmakers on the other side of the political aisle.

The Democrat says his goal during his term in office is to bring more jobs to the Commonwealth and build the economy, which can't be done without a bipartisan effort.

McAuliffe has not abandoned the idea of expanding Medicaid, which many Republicans have been opposed to.  He says obtaining the related federal funding is a big piece of building the economy in Virginia. While his opponent, Ken Cuccinelli, said the narrow victory by McAuliffe was a referendum on Obamacare, McAuliffe says he took something entirely different from this win.  "The main message that came out of Election Night is that they want folks wanting together in a bi-partisan, mainstream, pragmatic way."
 
McAuliffe also says the fact that he was endorsed by some prominent Republicans during the campaign indicates that they’re ready to work with him and did not like what they heard from "their" candidate. However, he ultimately received only 4 percent of the Republican vote.  He adds that to address the ethical questions that plagued both campaigns, he is creating an ethics commission immediately.
 

Tommie McNeil is a State Capitol reporter who has been covering Virginia and Virginia politics for more than a decade. He originally hails from Maryland, and also doubles as the evening anchor for 1140 WRVA in Richmond.