(CNN) Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will not run for president in 2020, he announced Wednesday.

"I've listened to the Virginians and I'm going to help Virginia for the next six months. I could spend eight months traveling around the country running for president, or six months really making a difference," the Virginia Democrat told CNN's Chris Cuomo during an exclusive interview on "Cuomo Prime Time."

McAuliffe said that, after being courted by state Democrats, he would be "going home" to help coordinate the campaigns of the state's national and local Democrats.

"I'm going to work the next six months every single day to make sure Virginia, we win the House and the Senate, and then next year I'm going to work like a dog to make sure that we are blue," he said. "We were the only southern state that went for Hillary in 2016, very proud of that. We need to do it again in (20)20."

McAuliffe expressed confidence Wednesday that "I could really make a difference" and beat "Trump like a rented mule."

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