Not that this is a big surprise or anything, but with Bill Bolling's announcement yesterday that he will seek re-election as lieutenant governor next year, "Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) said that he will not run."
"I was surprised. I had no idea it was coming," Stewart said of Bolling's announcement. "I really want to be lieutenant governor, but this is the strongest ticket. It's the best thing for the party."
Whether it's the "best thing" for Corey Stewart, who has his hands full in Prince William county, remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post notes that Bill Bolling's announcement changes things for other ambitious Republicans as well:
Bolling's decision also upset the political futures of Del. Timothy D. Hugo (R-Fairfax) and former state senator James K. "Jay" O'Brien (R-Fairfax), former contenders who have also said they will not seek the nomination for lieutenant governor.
In short, it looks like the Republicans are set with the top two slots on their ticket for 2009 -- Bob McDonnell for Governor, Bill Bolling for LG Also, they are most likely going to nominate Ken Cuccinelli for AG, which is certainly not a pleasant thought for anyone politically to the left of Genghis Khan. All in all, this looks like about as conservative a ticket as you can get without having Bob Marshall, Michael Farris, Oliver North, or Pat Robertson on it.
Now, the question is, will Democrats proceed with a primary or will they come to some sort of agreement as the Republicans have just done? While I generally am a fan of primaries, in this case I'm leery because both I think that both Brian Moran and Creigh Deeds would make strong candidates in 2009, and I'd hate to lose one of them from the ticket. Frankly, though, I see almost no chance of either Brian or Creigh backing off their runs for governor, setting up a primary that hopefully will be positive, not destructive. We'll see.
An observation about the Bolling situation. I don't know why he's not running, scared of losing, whatever, but Mary Sue Terry did the same thing back in 1989, she backed off to avoid what would've been a fierce battle against Wilder, for the good of the party--bless her heart. We need more of that in the Democratic party. Stop just saying, me, me, me......like one particular person running for president is doing.