FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee pledged Thursday to serve his full term, saying his Facebook post suggesting he was considering a run for governor of Virginia was intended as a joke.
Chatterjee, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has long been rumored to have political ambitions, created a Facebook group titled “Hypothetical: Draft Neil Chatterjee for Virginia Governor 2021” on May 16. (See Chatterjee Exploring Va. Gubernatorial Race.)
“Let me just be totally, totally clear on this, and I can’t stress this enough. What I did was write a light-hearted post to social media. It was clearly a joke and not serious,” he said in response to a question at his press conference after FERC’s monthly open meeting. “I cannot stress enough [that] my focus is on the work of the commission. I’m not focused on anything about my future until after the completion of my term at the commission, June 30, 2021. Period. Point blank.”
The filing deadline for the Virginia primary is April 25, 2021, more than two months before Chatterjee’s term expires. Under the Hatch Act, Chatterjee would be required to relinquish his FERC position before seeking office in a partisan election or soliciting political contributions. Gubernatorial candidates must obtain 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot in Virginia.
Chatterjee said it was clear fellow commissioner Richard Glick wasn’t taking his potential candidacy seriously. After making opening remarks at Thursday’s meeting, Chatterjee invited comments from Glick, who said jokingly, “Thank you governor. I mean Mr. Chairman.”
Nevertheless, Chatterjee’s Facebook group had attracted more than 300 members as of Thursday, and none of those who pledged their support and campaign contributions seemed to be aware it was meant as a lark.
“I was joking around with my friends on my personal social media to try to get a reaction from my [them],” Chatterjee said when asked whether he was concerned that his posting could cause confusion. “It was not something that was in any way meant for the broader public. Maybe I should have spent more time building pillow forts. There [are] only so many pillow forts you can build. I was goofing around.”
Under questioning, the chairman declined to say unequivocally that he would not be running for governor next year, repeating, “I will serve my term until June 30, 2021.”
