Virginia Republicans attacked Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe as dishonest Thursday, unveiling a digital ad saying that, if he will repeat debunked claims that he inherited a budget deficit as governor, then he will deceive again as he campaigns for his old job.
Dubbed “Big Things, Little Things,” the statewide GOP ad — obtained first by The Washington Times — uses Mr. McAuliffe’s own quote that people who lie about small things will lie about bigger things, too.
The ad spotlights multiple fact-checked articles that say Mr. McAuliffe is wrong to say he inherited a budget deficit from Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell and that it was the largest in state history.
Mr. McAuliffe has repeated the claim three times this month.
The Washington Post fact-checker found Mr. McAuliffe inherited a balanced budget — Virginia law requires it, essentially — and that revenues declined over 2014 because of federal spending cuts and an unanticipated drop in tax revenue because investors cashed in on capital gains in 2013 to beat an expiration in certain tax cuts.
“Fact-checkers have told McAuliffe five times that he’s wrong, but he keeps saying it,” the narrator of the 30-second spot says. “Big things, little things — what won’t Terry McAuliffe lie about?”
The Virginia GOP is attacking Mr. McAuliffe ahead of a general election race against Glenn Youngkin, who was named the Republican nominee last month after multiple rounds of voting at the state party’s convention.
“Two-Faced Terry McAuliffe has a troubled relationship with the truth, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer to Virginians that Two-Faced Terry will lie about anything in order to get elected,” Virginia GOP Chairman Rich Anderson said.
The Times has reached out to the McAuliffe campaign and Virginia Democrats for comment.
Virginia bars governors from serving successive terms. Mr. McAuliffe is running again, after having served from 2014 to 2018, to succeed fellow Democrat Ralph Northam.
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