Virginia governor Bob McDonnell weighed in on the race to succeed him on The Daily Rundown Tuesday. And he pointedly contrasted his own approach to that of the GOP frontrunner.
McDonnell, who resigned as Virginia’s attorney general to focus on his own gubernatorial campaign in 2009, was careful not to criticize current Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a fellow Republican, for running for governor while keeping his job.
“I thought [resigning] was better for me, I thought it was better for the office of the attorney general.” McDonnell told Chuck. “I won by 18 points, so I figure that was good and we had a full-time attorney general.”
“If Ken Cuccinelli thinks he can do both then more power to him, but that’s an individual decision,” McDonnell said.
Cuccinelli will likely face off against former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe this fall. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who abandoned a bid for the Republican nomination recently, has not yet ruled out running as an independent. The state went for President Obama and Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, last fall, giving both Senate seats to Democrats. But in its off-year election, Virginia has a history of electing a governor from the opposite party from the one that just won the White House.
Check out Chuck’s interview here:
Xuan Thai