Too Progressive

Republican State Senator Ken Cuccinelli is expected to possibly finalize the 2009 Republican ticket on Monday by declaring for Virginia Attorney General on Monday.   With Bill Bolling having declared last week that he will run for re-election as Lt. Governor and AG Bob McDonnell having already declared he will run for Governor, it could be a McDonnell-Bolling-Cuccinelli ticket for the Republicans.  Apparently Virginia Republicans still haven’t wised up to the fact that the politics of Virginia are rapidly changing and we’re no longer going to elect ultra conservatives to office.

A patent lawyer and conservative Republican, Cuccinelli was elected to the General Assembly in a 2002 special election. He has been re-elected to the state Senate twice, most recently last year when he retained his office by a margin of about 100 votes.

His office Friday announced a Monday afternoon press conference in Fairfax County.

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling will seek a second term next year instead of challenging Attorney General Bob McDonnell for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination. Bolling stated that “family finances” and “the necessity of building a new business” prevented him from running a costly full-time campaign. Bolling also stated that he would fully support Bob McDonnell.

Bolling said he will support McDonnell and said his decision would unify the GOP ticket next year after two consecutive gubernatorial losses.

“Bob McDonnell and I are stronger running together than either of us would be running individually,” Bolling said.

“The party will line up behind this ticket, a ticket that can beat anything the Democrats throw our way,” he said.

Bolling also hinted at a 2013 run:

Bolling, 50, said he finalized his decision about two weeks ago but had been leaning toward staying put for several months. By 2013, he said, he will have his mortgage paid, the last of his children out of college and his business on sounder footing.

I’m posting this from work so I don’t have much time to comment, but here’s the email his campaign sent out this morning:

Dear Friends,

Under the leadership of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, we have experienced significant progress in the last few years. Because of their optimistic, commonsense approach to solving problems, we have all been proud to call Virginia our home. Today I’m announcing my campaign for Governor to continue that tradition of moving Virginia forward.

Please visit my new website at www.DeedsforVirginia.com to view my announcement video and join my campaign.

The election for Governor in 2009 will offer every Virginian a choice: do we continue and build upon the work of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, or do we chart a different course that embraces the attack politics and policies of George W. Bush’s wing of the Republican Party?

I believe that Warner-Kaine approach is the better way to keep Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family. And, that better way is how I will lead us forward if given the privilege to serve as your next Governor. For me, it’s about creating opportunity in every corner of Virginia: building a modern transportation system that moves our state and our economy forward, creating a research-based economy that develops new sources of alternative energy by investing in our colleges and universities, and retooling our community college system so we can train for the jobs of the 21st century.

I invite you to please join me.

Very Truly Yours,

Senator Deeds

GO CREIGH!!