VA GOP Nominates Ken Cuccinelli for Governor's Race

Virginia Republican Party delegates officially nominated Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to run for governor at its state convention Saturday in Richmond.

Cuccinelli, 44, essentially locked down the Republican nomination in November 2012, when outgoing Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announced he wouldn’t be seeking the nomination. Bolling cited party officials’ vote to change the nominating method from a primary election to a convention as the main reason for withdrawing his hat.

"I see a Commonwealth where our people once again lead in liberty and opportunity," Cuccinelli said in his address. "Where striving to achieve is respected, even when we fall short, and it’s celebrated when we succeed. I see a Commonwealth where we restrain our debt so we pass on to the next generation a system of governance that can preserve our freedoms and defend our God-given rights.

"That is a mission worthy of our history and of the sacrifices of those who have gone before us. It is a future that I hope we can work together to build, right now, in 2013."

Cuccinelli earned the attorney general nomination at a convention in 2009 along with Bolling and Gov. Bob McDonnell before they all took office.

A New Jersey native and Fairfax County resident, Cuccinelli served as a Republican member of the state senate for the 37th  district from 2002 until he took office as Attorney General in 2010.

Cuccinelli, a staunch conservative, unveiled his “Economic Growth & Virginia Jobs Plan” earlier this month, which he says will reduce business and income taxes by more than $1 billion a year.

The plan would cut the personal income tax rate from 5.75 percent to 5 percent over four years and the corporate income tax rate from 6 percent to 4 percent over the same period. Cuccinelli said it would also eliminate unnecessary tax exemptions and loopholes.

Cuccinelli will face Democrat Terry McAuliffe in November.

Full text of Cuccinelli’s speech.