He's weak sauce. Lost reelection and I doubt he wins the primary. Even if he did, Virginia limits you to one term so he wouldn't have enough experience compared to other two term governors of other states (Cuomo). He would been seen as a moderate in the Dem primary with almost no name recognituon. People here struggle to id or even remember him, his term ended in January 2011.
He may be seen as Jimmy Carter circa 1976. Carter was only a one-term Governor, but he finished his entire term and didn't spend most of his time in office running for President. He also involved himself in the DGA (Democratic Governor's Association) and accumulated a few political debts. He didn't announce until 1975 (the process wasn't as long then as now) and he got credit for finishing his term. Carter was viewed as an outsider, but not as inexperienced and unprepared.
Periello, if he were elected Governor, would be able to run for President in 2024 as a guy who finished the job as Governor without running all around America for most of his term. He'll have executive experience in politics and people will have a good idea of seeing what he'll do in terms of dealing with a legislature, government organization, etc. He won't have the advantage Jimmy Carter had of being perceived as a candidate who could bring the entire South back into the Democratic fold, but the name of the game is different now.
