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Herring to Seek Re-Election As Virginia's Attorney General

The Associated Press

Taking a page from the McDonnell-Bolling book of party unification, Attorney General Mark Herring now says--midway into his term--that he is backing Democratic Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam for Governor, while Herring will run for a second term. 

When Herring tweeted that it's been an honor serving as Attorney General and that he'd have news about what's next for him, he sent political junkies into a frenzy speculating that he would make a VERY early run for governor--or that he may move on to other endeavors. But Herring REALLY means he loves the job-so much that he wants to stay there.

“And I know there’s a lot more coming. We’re working on re-galvanizing our consumer protection section. We are working on a number of equal justice initiatives that I’m hopeful in the coming weeks and months ahead we’ll be able to announce. And we’ve got more things coming.”

Still unknown is which Democrats will run for the Lieutenant Governor's job. This move is reminiscent of when then-Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling deferred his gubernatorial ambitions to allow then-Attorney General Bob McDonnell to run for Governor in 2009.  That decision enabled them to win the top two statewide offices for the GOP.  But that unity was lost four years later when then-Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli decided to challenge Bolling for the party’s gubernatorial nomination.

Tommie McNeil is a State Capitol reporter who has been covering Virginia and Virginia politics for more than a decade. He originally hails from Maryland, and also doubles as the evening anchor for 1140 WRVA in Richmond.