Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli shocked top Virginia Republicans and instigated a potentially divisive showdown with Gov. Bob McDonnell and his handpicked successor, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, with his announcement Thursday that he would run for governor in 2013.
In a letter to his staff Thursday, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Examiner, Cuccinelli said the next governor “needs to hit the ground running to keep the momentum moving forward in the face of federal and economic challenges.” He said being attorney general gave him “tremendous insight and perspective on the inner workings of state government that no other job can provide.”
Cuccinelli said that he intended to make a formal announcement after the 2012 legislative session, but news reports about a potential run surfaced late Wednesday and compelled him to announce early.
Bolling, who has long made known his aspirations for governor’s office, earned the backing of the popular McDonnell in the 2013 race after agreeing not to run for governor against McDonnell in 2009. Bolling had hoped Cuccinelli would do the same for him and settle for a second term as attorney general.
Cuccinnelli previously indicated he was content in a job in which his conservative activism has earned him a national following. He had suggested that he might run for the U.S. Senate in 2014 instead of governor a year earlier.
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“Needless to say, I am very disappointed by Mr. Cuccinelli’s decision to run for governor in 2013,” Bolling said in a statement. “I have consistently stated my intention to run for governor in 2013, and Mr. Cuccinelli’s announcement will not alter my intended course. After serving 10 years in the state Senate and six years as lieutenant governor, I am uniquely prepared to succeed Gov. McDonnell and lead Virginia into the future.”
A first-term attorney general who previously served two terms in the state Senate, Cuccinelli catapulted himself into the limelight after suing President Obama’s administration over health care reform and environmental regulations, telling state universities they can’t protect gay employees against discrimination, and forcing a University of Virginia professor to hand over emails about his climate research.
Cuccinelli earned a rebuff from McDonnell, who on Thursday reaffirmed his support for Bolling and said he would “prefer a scenario in which both men continue to serve in statewide office together going forward.”
While Tea Party leaders respect the work of McDonnell, they’re less enthusiastic about Bolling, who moonlights as Virginia campaign chairman for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. And the movement is still sour about Bolling after his political director once appeared to suggest opposition to the Tea Party.
“He is on record with not being comfortable with the Tea Party, which was later retracted but has not been forgotten,” said John Jaggers, operations director for the Northern Virginia Tea Party. Jaggers called Cuccinelli “an undisputed leader of the conservative movement.”
That conservative support could ultimately propel Cuccinelli past Bolling in a primary election, said Kyle Kondik, political analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
“I’m not writing off Bolling,” he said, “but if does come down to a primary between the two of them it would be very tough.”
