Bill Bolling - 2013 Gubernatorial Campaign

2013 Gubernatorial Campaign

In early 2008, Bolling and then-Attorney General McDonnell struck a deal in which Bolling agreed to run for re-election as Lieutenant Governor to allow McDonnell to run unopposed for Governor in 2009, in exchange for McDonnell's support for Bolling for Governor in 2013. The deal was widely known and as such, Bolling was effectively running for Governor since 2009, and in April 2010, Bolling filed the necessary paperwork to run in 2013. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, elected alongside McDonnell and Bolling in 2009, stated that he intended to run for re-election as attorney general in 2013, but did not rule out running for Governor. In December 2011, Cuccinelli announced to his staff that he would run against Bolling for governor in 2013; the news went public, and in response, Bolling issued a statement accusing Cuccinelli of putting "his own personal ambition ahead of the best interests of the commonwealth and the Republican Party." Cuccinelli's announcement came two days before the annual statewide conference of Virginia Republicans, at which Bolling and his staff expressed being upset with Cuccinelli's decision.

In 2012, Bolling was the Virginia state Chairman of Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, a position he hoped to use to curry favor from a potential Romney administration and increase his own name recognition among state Republicans. Through the second quarter of 2012, Bolling had a significant edge in fundraising over Cuccinelli. However, Cuccinelli had a wide lead in early polling - a June 2012 poll of Virginia Republicans showed 51% supported Cuccinelli for governor compared to just 15% for Bolling. Further diminishing Bolling's hopes was a June 2012 decision by the Republican Party of Virginia's State Central Committee to determine the nominee for Governor at a statewide convention of Republicans rather than an open primary - conservatives overwhelmingly backed Cuccinelli while more moderates backed Bolling, and conservatives tend to dominate conventions.

On November 28, 2012, Bolling announced that he was suspending his campaign. He said that "the decision to change the method of nomination from a primary to a convention created too many obstacles for us to overcome", and that he didn't want to "create deep divisions within our party." He refused to endorse Cuccinelli, saying, "I have serious reservations about his ability to effectively and responsibly lead our state."

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