Cuccinelli and Marshall figure large in 2012-2014 statewide office runs
By JR Hoeft | Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 | Catch-All, Politics2013 and 2014 statewide office runs are still unclear based on Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s announcement last week that he is still considering a run for governor.
Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, long considered the favorite to win the GOP nomination for governor in 2013, could be derailed from his bid by the unabashedly conservative, and Tea Party poster child, Cuccinelli.
But is Cuccinelli’s motive entirely political? Could this be posturing to ensure Bolling has enough conservative pressure on him during this upcoming session so that he doesn’t “stray” with his tie breaking vote?
The reality is that the only person who knows the answer to that question is the attorney general – and his staff’s not talking.
Neither is the lieutenant governor’s staff for that matter. But this interesting dynamic does lend itself to idle speculation…which always goes over well here at Bearing Drift.
So, here goes with a few scenarios:
1) Cuccinelli runs for governor; Bolling, seeing that his services are better suited as the tie-breaking vote, takes one more for the team and runs for a third term as lieutenant governor, foiling plans being hatched by Keith Fimian, Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart, and state Sen. Jeff McWaters. With the Cuccinelli run, Del. Rob Bell and state Sen. Mark Obenshain vie for the AG nod.
2) It’s a feint by Cuccinelli to keep pressure on Bolling and he moves towards a second term as AG to finish a lot of the work he’s begun. Bolling walks to the nomination. Fimian, Stewart and McWaters duke it out for LG. Bell and Obenshain wait for next cycle…or one of them is appointed as a deputy AG, which will become important when….
3) Cuccinelli runs for U.S. Senate in 2014.
No matter what the decision, patience is a virtue. We likely won’t know what the AG is going to do until after the General Assembly session.
In the meantime, while George Allen seems like he’s on cruise control to the 2012 U.S. Senate nomination, new rumors are starting to surface regarding a once highly anticipated candidate: Del. Bob Marshall. Sources tell Bearing Drift that Marshall, who came within one weighted delegate vote of being the nominee in 2008, is considering joining the fray that includes Jamie Radtke, Tim Donner, EW Jackson, and David McCormick – all of who seem to have trouble breaking the 10% polling ceiling.
But Marshall does not have much time. Given that the General Assembly session is likely to last until March and he has yet to start his ground game, is this even a possibility for Marshall?
Yet, considering Cuccinelli is most likely to run in 2014 for the U.S. Senate, if Marshall wants another shot, it’s probably now.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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9 Responses to "Cuccinelli and Marshall figure large in 2012-2014 statewide office runs"
Why would Bob Marshall be an improvement on Jamie Radtke, Tim Donner, EW Jackson, or David McCormick? For a far-right conservative to come within one vote of winning a nomination at a Virginia Republican convention is like being first runner-up in a beauty pageant conducted in your parents’ living room. And, speaking of which, how well did that guy who beat Marshall for the nomination poll in the general election? As I recall, he barely broke through 33%. I hardly think it was because he wasn’t conservative enough.
This how to keep Tim Kaine out of the US Senate? Don’t think so.
Rocky – don’t shoot the messenger.
While I think Cuccinelli’s strategy should be “run for whatever Mark Warner doesn’t,” there is a 4th option. Some Republican President may pick him for US AG.
Sorry, Jim. Wasn’t shooting at you. I just wanted to comment from the perspective of a Radical Centrist on how bad a state-wide candidate Bob Marshall would be. IMHO, if the Republicans had conducted a primary in 2008 instead of a convention, we would have Senator Tom Davis instead of having Jim Gilmore handed his ass to him like a liposuction outpatient.
Bolling’s not going to wait another 4 years.
Whatever happened to Paul Harris? Is he out of politics for good?
The AG needs to finish the fight in the courtroom and have some tangible results to hang his hat on before leaving his post as AG. Not just to the benefit of the Commonwealth but for the country as well. I agree as one of the previous posters stated he would be an outstanding US AG; as we will need someone who can stand their ground and clean up the mess created by Eric Holder.
I love Marshall and would vote for him in the primary in a heart beat, but how soon are the petition signatures to be on the primary due, and will he be able to put together the organization to gather them in such a short time?
If Cucc goes for Gov, maybe Bolling runs for Senate?
I dont think Davis would have beat Warner, but it would have been much closer
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