Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's pet chicken named Hillary died shortly before the presidential election, the Democrat and longtime Clinton ally said on Thursday.

McAuliffe broke the news during an interview with The Atlantic, the Washington Examiner reported. Others noted the governor's loss after he made the announcement.

During the event, The Atlantic‘s Steve Clemons asked McAuliffe how his family's pet chicken was doing.

"I hate to say this, one chicken died. About a month before the election Hillary died," McAuliffe responded. "We've got Hillary Jr. now. She is bright and fluffy and making a lot of noise and healthy as an ox."

.@TerryMcAuliffe tells @SCClemons that the chicken named Hillary he had roaming the gov mansion grounds died a month before the election — Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) December 8, 2016

It was first reported last year that McAuliffe, a longtime friend and ally of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, gave one of his pet chickens the same first name as the former first lady. McAuliffe chaired Hillary Clinton's failed 2008 presidential campaign and more recently came under fire for being connected to a Clinton Foundation megadonor from China who was embroiled in his own legal issues.

Hillary was one of four chickens who called the governor's mansion home, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Now Hillary Jr. joins Dolly, Snape, and Camo as Virginia's first chickens.