Bill Bolling
William T. "Bill" Bolling (b. June 15, 1957, Sistesville, West Virginia) was the 39th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. A Republican, he was first elected in 2005.[1] Bolling was re-elected in 2009, defeating former state treasurer Jody Wagner by a margin of 56.5% to 43.4%.[2]
As lieutenant governor, Bolling served as the tie-breaker vote in the Virginia State Senate. Bolling broke 28 times in 2012, a record at that time. Each time he sided with Senate Republicans.[3]
Bolling sought the 2013 Republican gubernatorial nomination but suspended his campaign on November 28, 2012. Bolling announced on March 12, 2013, that he had decided against running as an independent as well.[4]
Political career
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (2006-2014)
Bolling was first elected lieutenant governor on November 8, 2005. He was re-elected in 2009.[5]
Virginia State Senate (1996-2005)
Prior to serving as lieutenant governor, Bolling was a member of the Virginia State Senate from 1996 to 2005.
Presidential preference
2012
Bill Bolling endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[6]
Elections
2013
- See also: Virginia gubernatorial election, 2013
On November 28, 2012, Bolling suspended his campaign for Governor of Virginia, citing his slim chances of beating tea party favorite Ken Cuccinelli, the current Attorney General of Virginia, for the party's nomination since the Republican Party of Virginia opted to change the format for selecting its gubernatorial, lt. gubernatorial, and attorney general nominees from primary election to closed nominating convention.[7] Although Bolling was explicit about ending his pursuit of a place on the Republican ticket, he waited until March 12 before ruling out entering the race altogether, allowing himself time to weigh the possibility of running as an independent candidate instead.[8]
Bolling released an official statement explaining his decision to not resume his campaign as an Independent on his official campaign website. “Given the current political dynamics in Virginia, the prospects of an Independent campaign were very appealing to me...However, after a great deal of consideration I have decided that I will not be an independent candidate for Governor this year," he wrote. Bolling highlighted three main factors that dissuaded him from running: The seemingly insurmountable challenge of running a serious campaign without the funding, resources brought by a major party, the prospect of cutting ties with the GOP, and, finally, his "growing dissatisfaction with the current political environment in Virginia," which he sees as excessively partisan.[4]
Endorsements
Incumbent Gov. McDonnell, who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2013, had previously pledged his support for Bolling's candidacy- in part because Bolling refrained from challenging McDonnell for governor in 2009.[9] After Bolling withdrew his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2013, McDonnell commented, "I have also told Bill how much this Commonwealth needs him to stay involved in public life in the years ahead. And I know he is not done advocating positive conservative ideas.”[8]
Race background
Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) was ineligible to run for re-election in 2013 because of term limits. Term limits for governors in Virginia are more strict than any other state in the country. Under the commonwealth's constitution, no governor may serve back-to-back terms. This means that McDonnell, unlike other governors in their first term, was ineligible to run for re-election.
There are no such term limits on the attorney general, and many were surprised at former AG Ken Cuccinelli's (R) decision to run for governor, rather than seek another term. If not for Cuccinelli, outgoing Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling would have been the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to succeed McDonnell.[10] Due to the state Republican Party's decision to change their candidate nomination method from open primary election to closed nominating convention starting in 2013, and Cuccinelli's presence in the race, Bolling withdrew his bid for the GOP nod in November 2012.[7][8] About the alternative of seeking re-election to his current post, Bolling stated that “Under normal circumstances, I would be open to the possibility of running for another term as lieutenant governor, but I would not be interested in running on a statewide ticket with Mr. Cuccinelli.”[11] He later said he regretted dropping out of the race as early as he did.[12]
McDonnell had previously pledged his support for Bolling's candidacy, in part because Bolling refrained from challenging McDonnell for governor in 2009. After Bolling bowed out, McDonnell chose to endorse fellow Republican Cuccinelli for his successor, despite Cuccinelli's outspoken opposition to McDonnell's Transportation Initiative, which was considered to be the centerpiece of his gubernatorial legacy. Ironically, Cuccinelli's future general election opponent, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, had been equally outspoken on the issue, but as an advocate and defender of the outgoing governor's approach to amending the state's transportation funding policy.[9][13]
In response to the major party picks, the Libertarian Party held a special convention and nominated Robert Sarvis as the party's official gubernatorial candidate.[14]
Like Cuccinelli and Sarvis, McAuliffe faced no primary opponent. Days from the election, McAuliffe held a comfortable polling and fundraising lead over Cuccinelli and Sarvis. Aggregated polling data had the Democratic nominee with an average edge of seven percentage points over Cuccinelli--an advantage that could have been attributed in large part to female voters' 58-34 preference of McAuliffe, since he and Cuccinelli were almost neck-and-neck among men.[15][16] During the last campaign finance reporting period, ending October 28, McAuliffe reported raising $8.1 million to Cuccinelli's $2.9 million, and holding $1.6 million in cash on hand, which was twice the size of Cuccinelli's warchest. Sarvis was trailing both with a reported $81,595 raised and $58,584 on hand.[17][18][19] Hillary Clinton's decision to come out in support of McAuliffe on October 19 - marking her first campaign event appearance since stepping down as U.S. Secretary of State - further enhanced the Democrat's frontrunner status.[20] Former President Bill Clinton threw in his support soon thereafter, followed by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who joined the McAuliffe campaign effort in the final week of the election season.[21]
The three contenders squared off in the general election on November 5, 2013, which McAuliffe won by a 2.6 percent margin.[22]
Impact of US government shutdown on governor's race
The 2013 federal government shutdown coincided with the home stretch of the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial race, which created a fresh backdrop for the battle between major party nominees Terry McAuliffe (D) and Ken Cuccinelli (R).[23] Each campaign released an ad during the aftermath of the shutdown.[24]
Hoping to use the shutdown to further advance his 5.3 percent polling lead by associating Cuccinelli with Republican members of Congress, McAuliffe's ad emphasized Cuccinelli's ties to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).[25] The ad cited Cuccinelli's past effort to defund Planned Parenthood, asserting that it had slowed the passage of other legislation, and also claimed Cuccinelli had been sufficiently opposed to Mark Warner's 2004 budget to call for a shutdown of the state government.[26]
Cuccinelli's ad aimed to discredit McAuliffe by referencing articles from The Washington Post and the Richmond-Times Dispatch criticizing McAuliffe's prospective budget plan and alleging that McAuliffe had threatened to shut down the government in the event that the plan did not pass. The radio spot also accused McAuliffe of being "against compromise, against working together to find solutions,” pointing to McAuliffe's support for Democratic members of Congress who had supported the government shutdown.[27][28]
The shutdown was also referenced by Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis, who argued that it had soured voters on the major parties. "People are looking for other options they don't like what they have to see from those two parties and we're trying to fill that void with principled advocacy for more freedom in our economic sphere and personal lives," stated Sarvis.[29][30]
2009
Bolling defeated Democrat Jody M. Wagner for lieutenant governor in the November 2009 general election, earning 56.51% of the total vote.[2]
| Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  William T. "Bill" Bolling |
56.5% | 1,106,793 | |
| Democratic | Jody M. Wagner | 43.4% | 850,111 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.1% | 1,569 | |
| Total Votes | 1,958,473 | |||
2005
On November 8, 2005, William T. Bolling won election to the office of Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He defeated Leslie L. Byrne (D) in the general election.
| Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, 2005 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | William T. Bolling |
50.5% | 979,265 | |
| Democratic | Leslie L. Byrne | 49.3% | 956,906 | |
| Write-In | Various | 0.2% | 4,065 | |
| Total Votes | 1,940,236 | |||
| Election results via Virginia State Board of Elections. | ||||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Bolling has lived in Mechanicsville, Virginia. He and his wife, Jean Anne, have had two children, Matt and Kevin.[31]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Bill + Bolling + Virginia + Lieutenant + Governor"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ "Bill Bolling" The Lieutenant Governor's Inaugural Celebration Information
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 2009 General Election Official Results," accessed November 26, 2009
- ↑ Washington Post, "More independent Bolling returns to role as tiebreaker in Virginia Senate," January 5, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bill Bolling Lieutenant Governor, "Press release: Bolling Says No to Possible Independent Campaign for Governor," March 12, 2013
- ↑ Virginia.gov, "The Bill Bolling Story," accessed July 22, 2013
- ↑ Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Virginia Leadership Team," December 29, 2011
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Washington Post, "GOP Fratricide in Virginia," December 1, 2012
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Washington Post, "Bill Bolling decides not to seek GOP nomination for VA governor," November 28, 2012
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Collegian, "Obama victory could cost Democrats Virginia governorship," November 15, 2012
- ↑ Richmond Times Dispatch, "Bolling on Cuccinelli: 'Nothing he does surprises me'," December 6, 2011
- ↑ The Roanoke Times, "Could Bolling run for governor as an independent?," November 28, 2012
- ↑ The Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Bolling regrets dropping out of the race so soon," April 22, 2013
- ↑ Washington Post, "Cuccinelli vs. McAuliffe: Virginia governor’s race holds the eyes of the nation," March 29, 2013
- ↑ Independent Political Report, "Robert Sarvis Receives Libertarian Party of Virginia Nomination for Governor in 2013," accessed April 27, 2013
- ↑ Washington Post, "McAuliffe opens up double digit lead over Cuccinelli in Virginia governor's race," October 28, 2013
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "HuffPost Pollster: 2013 Virginia Governor: Cuccinelli vs. McAuliffe," accessed September 18, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Terry McAuliffe outraises Ken Cuccinelli by $3M," October 15, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "McAuliffe tops Cuccinelli in fundraising race for Virginia governor," September 17, 2013
- ↑ The Richmond Times-Dispatch, "McAuliffe maintains cash edge over Cuccineli," September 17, 2013
- ↑ The Hill, "Hillary Clinton to campaign in Virginia with McAuliffe (Video)," October 14, 2013
- ↑ Washington Post, "Obama, Biden to hit the trail for McAuliffe Va. governor bid, first lady cuts radio ad," October 29, 2013
- ↑ ABC 7, "Terry McAuliffe qualifies for Virginia June Democratic primary ballot," March 27, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Virginia governor race 2013: Shutdown roils contest," October 4, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Five things to watch in the Cuccinelli-McAuliffe debate," September 25, 2013
- ↑ RealClearPolitics, "Virginia Governor - Cuccinelli vs. McAuliffe," accessed October 7, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "In Virginia governor’s race, McAuliffe calls on Cuccinelli to denounce shutdown, Cruz," October 7, 2013
- ↑ YouTube, "Terry McAuliffe Radio Ad: Cuccinelli and the Architect," October 5, 2013
- ↑ YouTube, "Shutdown," accessed October 7, 2013
- ↑ Real Clear Politics, "Virginia Gov: Cuccinelli vs. McAuliffe vs. Sarvis," accessed October 7, 2013
- ↑ NBC29.com, "Robert Sarvis: I'm giving voters a better option," October 5, 2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography of Bill Bolling," accessed November 16, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tim Kaine (D) |
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 2006 - 2014 |
Succeeded by Ralph Northam |
| |||||||||||||
