Stepping Stone To Higher Office
Because it is one of only three statewide elected offices, the post of Attorney General is seen as a stepping-stone to higher office, especially Governor of Virginia. Along with the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, the Attorney General is seen as one of two candidates in contention to replace the sitting Governor, who is constitutionally barred from running for re-election. Following the 2001 election of Governor Mark Warner, it was widely believed that the 2005 election would be between then-Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine and then-Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, which is precisely what occurred, with Kaine winning and becoming Virginia's 70th Governor. A similar scenario occurred in 1981, when then-Lieutenant Governor Chuck Robb defeated then-Attorney General Marshall Coleman and again in 1997 when then-Attorney General Jim Gilmore defeated then-Lieutenant Governor Don Beyer.
When separate parties capture the Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor's offices, these officeholders are seen as the clear frontrunners for their parties' nominations in the next gubernatorial election. When the same party captures both offices, intraparty rivalries and rifts can develop around which person should be the next gubernatorial nominee. For example, in 2001, there was a bitter intraparty battle in the Republican party between Attorney General Mark Earley, who was strongly backed by social conservatives, and Lieutenant Governor John H. Hager, who was backed by other factions of the party. Earley prevailed, but Hager and many of his supporters gave only perfunctory endorsements of Earley or openly supported the successful Democratic nominee Mark Warner. When one party captures neither office, it is left without a frontrunner for the next gubernatorial election. However, this allowed two of the most popular recent governors, Warner and George Allen, to win their parties' nominations and the subsequent elections without having held state-wide office.
It is a Virginia tradition that Attorneys General who are running for Governor resign from office before the conclusion of the four-year term for which they are elected. This has provided political fodder for their opponents, with Mark Earley criticized early in 2001 for not resigning (though he would resign in June of that year), with critics saying he could not campaign and serve effectively as Attorney General simultaneously, while Jerry Kilgore was criticized for resigning when he did so in February 2005, with critics saying he was abandoning his responsibilities to campaign. Similarly, in February 2009, then Attorney General Bob McDonnell resigned to focus primarily on his campaign for governor. Some Attorneys General have not resigned, including Marshall Coleman in 1981. When an Attorney General resigns, it is the responsibility of the Virginia General Assembly to elect a replacement to finish the term of office. Often the Chief Deputy Attorney General is chosen, as in the case of Judith Jagdmann. The Lieutenant Governor is not expected to resign as the official duties of the office are very limited.
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