Since the presidential campaigns kicked off last year, candidates have quietly and publicly asked for the support of Virginia’s popular Republican governor.
But Gov. Bob McDonnell has remained coy about his intentions. For someone with higher political aspirations whose name often comes up in conversations about potential vice presidential candidates, it might not have been in McDonnell’s best interest to join a campaign early and hitch his rising star to an eventual loser.
As more candidates drop out of the race, however, McDonnell’s decision to remain on the sidelines becomes more glaring. Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s decision Thursday to suspend his campaign seems to make a Mitt Romney endorsement inevitable, but McDonnell has so far balked at the chance to throw his weight behind the former Massachusetts governor.
McDonnell first insisted he would wait until after last November’s legislative elections before backing a candidate. He later added it might not be prudent to endorse anyone in light of his position as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
That hasn’t kept his vice chairman, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, from enthusiastically endorsing Romney. And for good measure, his top political ally, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, is head of Romney’s Virginia campaign.
McDonnell said last year that he would like to see a governor in the job, highlighting the importance of the executive experience President Obama lacked when he took office. At the time, three men fit that bill: Romney, Perry and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.
McDonnell served as Perry’s vice chairman when the Texan ran the RGA and the two are friends. McDonnell appeared along with Perry at an event in Virginia last year, and did the same for Romney.
But Perry and Huntsman failed to make Virginia’s primary — along with everyone else except Romney and Rep. Ron Paul — exposing a lack of effort to meet the state’s tough ballot requirements and little organization and ground support for their campaigns in the commonwealth. Perry and Huntsman then sued the state, a move McDonnell scoffed at.
When the rest of the field failed to make the Virginia’s primary ballot, it seemed like the opportune moment to back Romney, the only candidate who fit McDonnell’s preferences on the state ballot. But it didn’t come.
Huntsman has since dropped out, and now Perry has as well. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Rick Santorum are still in the race, and both reside in Virginia, but neither is or was a governor, and they failed to make Virginia’s ballot. A Paul endorsement would be out of left field.
So is a Romney endorsement coming?
As of right now, “the governor is continuing to evaluate the field,” spokesman Tucker Martin said.
“He thinks, very, very well of Gov. Romney,” Martin said. “He really likes his background in both the private and public sector and he has run a very good campaign.”
But Martin also added the McDonnell, who still prefers a governor, “thinks all the candidates would be a better president than the current office holder,” and there’s no guarantee he’ll endorse anyone at all.
“That is a question he still considering,” Martin said.
