As if shot from a sling, Corey Stewart ascended this year to Prince William County’s top elected office on a rapid and seemingly inexorable trajectory.

The 38-year-old attorney, an anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage conservative who says he wants to trim the county’s budget and lower tax bills, took the chairmanship in November with a comfortable lead over his Democratic challenger. He had spent only three years in county politics prior to the victory.