Gov. Terry McAuliffe

Gov. Terry McAuliffe

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is lagging behind his GOP predecessor in big donor fundraising going into a key election season. McAuliffe’s political action committee has raised nearly $1.4 million from donors who gave more than $10,000 during the first half of 2015, his second year in office. Former Gov. Bob McDonnell raised nearly $1.9 million during the corresponding time in his governorship, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. McAuliffe hopes to raise and spend significant amounts of money to help Democrats take control of the state Senate in November’s legislative elections. Recent major donors to McAuliffe’s PAC include $100,000 from BET founder Robert L. Johnson and $50,000 from Doug Band, a longtime personal aide to former President Bill Clinton.