In a recent Q&A on National Public Radio, there was this exchange:
Q: In the race for governor of Virginia, the GOP nominee, Jerry Kilgore, resigned as state attorney general midway through the campaign. The same thing happened in 2001, 1997 and (on the Democratic side) 1993 as well. Is this just tradition, or is there a legal reason for them to leave the attorney general post? -- Harvey Hudson, Eden Prairie, Minn.A: There is no legal reason for Virginia attorneys general to resign in their pursuit of the governorship, though as you point out that has been the recent custom. I surmise that the real reason the AGs resign is to make sure there is no blurring of actions as an officeholder and as a candidate (though I'm not sure why lieutenant governors don't make the same move; it probably has something to do with the job description). . . .
That?s not the real story. We?ll give Mr. Rudin the benefit of the doubt and just settle for enlightening him and his readers with this quote from passage from the Washington Post of January 17, 2005:
Kilgore, whose decision was first reported Monday night by the Associated Press, is following in the footsteps of past candidates for governor who resigned the full-time job as the state's top lawyer. Former governor James S. Gilmore III (R) did so in 1997, as did then-Attorney General Mark L. Earley (R) in 2001. But Earley and Gilmore resigned in June, after winning their nominations.If Kilgore waited to resign until after the legislature finishes next month, Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) would have made the decision about his replacement. . . .
The decision to leave early frees Kilgore to continue raising money for what political observers say will be an expensive campaign. State law prohibits state officeholders from raising money while the General Assembly is in session.
Kilgore's likely Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, on the other hand, will have to wait until the legislature adjourns at the end of February to start raising money again.
So, rather than that nonsense about blurring lines, perhaps a little digging (like using Google for one second) would?ve unearthed the real reasons: Kilgore quit when he did to allow him to raise money and to prevent Governor Warner from appointing his successor. Tim Kaine stayed in his job and couldn?t raise money for a month while Kilgore did so.
In other words, Jerry Kilgore quit his job for the money and for party politics. Kaine stayed on the job. It?s that simple.