Virginia Gubernatorial Race in 2013 Will be a Test of the Strength of Social Issue Republicans

Cretinous Ken Cuccinelli Will Run Against Former DNC Chairman Terry McAulliffe

There are two big Governor’s races next year, New Jersey and Virginia.  Last time these two states had these two races Republicans swept out Democrats, and they foreshadowed the big Republican wins a year later in 2010.  Now Republicans are up, and the results will tell a lot about the electorate for 2014. 

In New Jersey Republican Chris Christie has positioned himself nicely for re-election. When it became apparent Mitt Romney was going down and would not be making Mr. Christie the next Attorney General,  Mr. Christie nicely tossed him under the bus and embraced the President, who won his state handily.  Of course, Mr. Christie had already used his prime time speech at the Republican convention to promote Chris Christie, barely mentioning uh, Mitt Romney.  So Mr. Christie looks like a lock for re-election, unless he says something offensive and stupid, which he will.

In Virginia the state does not allow Governor’s to have consecutive terms, so popular Republican Governor Robert McDonnell is out.  The nomination will almost certainly go to the current state Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling is expected to drop out of next year’s gubernatorial race Wednesday morning, leaving Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli with a clear path to the GOP nomination next year, two Virginia Republicans tell POLITICO.

Bolling, now in his second term as lieutenant governor, was widely seen as the underdog against the conservative Cuccinelli, whose supporters engineered a move to change the 2013 nominating process from a primary to a convention. Conservatives typically dominate Virginia GOP conventions.

Both Cuccinelli and McDonnell are strong social conservatives, but McDonnell has the good political sense to hide his views and try to appear moderate, and he has largely succeeded.  But Cuccinelli wants to pursue the social agenda that probably cost Republicans the election and control of the Senate.  He is anti-gay, and anti-women, and would be a strong supporter of all sorts of restrictions on abortions, including invasive ultra-sound procedures prior to an abortion.  He is the Rick Santorum of Virginia politics.

So Virginia in 2013 will be test of just how strong the anti-Republican feelings are in the state, or whether or not strong social conservatives are willing to compromise or hide their offensive view in order to win an election.  Yep, everyone has  front row seat for this one.