Va. GOP panel backs '13 convention over primary

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A new, more conservative ruling body of Virginia’s Republican Party on Friday reversed last fall’s decision to nominate the party’s gubernatorial candidate in an open primary, opting instead for a closed convention of credentialed Republicans.

The 47-31 GOP central committee vote was a blow to Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and his supporters, including Gov. Bob McDonnell and U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and a victory for conservative Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a hero of Virginia’s tea party movement.