Cuccinelli says he won’t run for Virginia governor in 2017
Socially conservative former attorney general says he's focusing on getting Ted Cruz elected president
The Old Dominion’s LGBT community got some welcome news over the weekend after former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) announced he would not seek the GOP nomination for governor of Virginia in 2017.
Cuccinelli told The Washington Post that he would not be running, instead devoting his efforts to ensuring that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) becomes the GOP nominee in 2016 and is elected president. Like Cruz, Cuccinelli was known for pushing often divisive social issues, including abortion and same-sex marriage, as attorney general. Cuccinelli was also known for suing the federal government over the Affordable Care Act, going after scientists at the University of Virginia who supported the idea of climate change, and trying to prohibit state universities and colleges from adopting and enforcing LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policies.
“I made my choice here, and it was to go all in on the Cruz campaign,” Cuccinelli told the Post. “There’s only so much that makes sense on an individual and family basis. … It’s better for our family not to do both.”
Cuccinelli’s exit from the gubernatorial race appears, at first glance, to benefit former GOP strategist and 2014 U.S. Senate nominee Ed Gillespie, who came close to defeating U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D) that year. But Gillespie is also known as a more establishment figure, the type of candidate that typically does not fare well in state conventions, which is how Republicans will select their nominee for 2017. Other Republicans who are either considering running or have been mentioned as potential candidates include U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman and Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart, a former candidate for lieutenant governor in 2013.
Whoever emerges victorious from the Republican convention will likely face Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, the presumptive Democratic nominee and an ally of the LGBT community. Northam’s path to his party’s nomination was largely cleared after Attorney General Mark Herring announced his plans to run for re-election rather than seek the seat being vacated by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who is term-limited.
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