Posted on 12/01/2011 9:39:46 PM PST by rabscuttle385
RICHMOND — Republican Ken Cuccinelli II, Virginia’s outspoken attorney general who has drawn national support from the tea party movement, confirmed Thursday that he will run for governor in 2013.
Cuccinelli’s candidacy sets up a potentially contentious — and expensive — primary fight against Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), a presumptive gubernatorial candidate.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Neat! I have always liked Cuccinelli since he first started to run for elected office in Virginia. I wish him the very best.
Cuccinelli could be presidential material, but given our quirky electoral system/schedule, it makes it difficult for a VA governor to run for president. A VA governor would almost have to begin running halfway through their single term.
Unfortunately, I have a bad feeling this could be a repeat of Hager-Earley from 2001, and we all know how that turned out.
Virginia Republicans sure like using the A.G. office a springboard for the Governorship. I think they’ve slated the A.G. as the Republican nominee for Governor about 4 elections in a row now. They might as well just make the A.G. the Lt. Governor since the real Lt. Governor never gets the nod!
The last GOP Lt Governor to get the Gubernatorial nod was the ill-fated John Dalton way back in 1977.
VA Governors can’t even serve two terms?
I wish he’d hold out and kick Mark Warners a$$ in ‘14
The prohibition in on consecutive terms.
Jack
This will be a tough one, because I have actually met and spoken with both of these guys, and like them both.
Bill Bolling did a good thing in 2009, staying at the Lt Governor position and letting McDonell have an uncontested shot at the Governorship. Unfortunately, there may have been good reason for him to do so.
The intent was that Ken would to another slot at AG next time, and Bolling would move up to Governor. But being AG for 8 years is probably boring.
I’m guessing Mark Warner leaves the senate to come back and run for Governor. If so, I wish Bolling or Ken would run for the senate — not sure which would be better.
A more interesting question I thought of this morning — if McDonnell was picked as VP, Bolling would move up to the governorship. But if so, who takes over at Lt. Governor, because we need that slot to break ties in the Senate. This would of course give Bolling a leg up for the nomination, already holding the position.
I was happy that Bolling endorsed Romney in 2008, and sorry he did so this year, but they are personal friends and I understand how that works. We spoke about it at a dinner I attended once (also spoke with his wife about her son working at Kings Dominion, this was before my daughter and I took jobs there as Halloween Haunt monsters).
I’ll say this — Bill Bolling is a very nice guy, not the typical politician, but I’m not sure that helps him rather than hurts him. Ken is also a good, principled man, and a solid conservative, but he has I believe more of an edge to him which might make him a little more combative in a good way.
Ken Cuccinelli is a hero to most Virginia conservatives. He is sueing the Feds over Obamacare, challenged UVA climate scientists over state funds used for phony Global Warming science and strongly supports the Constitution and Limited Government.
Bolling has alienated some conservatives with his support for mandatory HPV vaccines for young girls.
Being attacked by the Union of Concerned Scientists isn’t really a problem.
BTW, the ATR case includes Bob Marshall, who up until redistricting was my representative, and who is the author of Virginia’s marriage protection constitutional amendment.
And Mann is not being “harassed”. He was paid with taxpayer dollars while working at the public University of Virginia, and we want to see his e-mails to make sure his lies about global warming weren’t a deliberate attempt to get state funding for his projects. We are looking for fraud — and since the e-mails were written using public computing systems by an employee of the government, it is absurd for them NOT to be covered by the FOIA, and not to be available under subpoena.
Mann used his celebrity in 2010 to try to stop the republican victory, writing an op-ed in the Washington Post urging his colleagues and voters to vote democrat so the republicans couldn’t stop the global warming bandwagon.
There is no real abuse of power here. as AG, Ken was responsible for determining if state tax dollars were being spent legally, and if there was fraud in obtaining grant money.
Again, not mandatory, we have opt-out here in Virginia. I think his decision to endorse Romney probably hurts him more, but none of the conservatives I talk to here in virginia think Bolling isn’t sufficiently conservative.
He’s just not flashy.
BTW, the ATR FOIA lawsuit is taking place right here in Manassas, where I live, and I hope at some point to get to go to one of the hearings (if they get to open court hearings).
Mann has been allowed to join the suit (odd because as an employee he shouldn’t have separate control over e-mails written on our dime, and he’s no longer employed by the state, and has no right to tell UVA what to do with his e-mails, but that’s what the judge decided).
Totally agree - wish he would hold out for Senate race - we need to do a clean sweep and get all the commie rats out of VA elected offices.
Cucch and Bolling need to remember Ranoldus Magnus’ Eleventh Commandment... and work it out for the Pubbie Party’s benefit.
Cuccinelli has done a fine job here as our AG. He'll get my vote for Governor. Bolling's a good guy, too, but Ken has stronger Conservative credentials.
Looking for your sarc tag, but am not finding it, so I'm gathering you actually take THAT as a "big scandal?" Cuccinnelli demanded to see better evidence of "man-made global warming," an action that hardly constitutes an abuse of power. If the Union of Concerned Scientists opposes him, all the better, because he's EXPOSING fraudulent claims about AGW.
Looks like that ridiculous comment got Retro Llama the Zot!
Retro as in retread troll?
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