McDonnell kicks off his gubernatorial campaign

Former Attorney General Bob McDonnell kicked off his campaign for governor yesterday by promising to focus on job creation in a state that is hurting economically.

"Whether I'm in Leesburg or Lee County, there is not a day that goes by where I don't see the pain and anxiety this economy is causing," he said at a rally in Henrico County. He also spoke at rallies in Annandale and Virginia Beach; he has lived in all three places.

McDonnell said he would cut red tape to make sure Virginians can start a business in 48 hours. He said he would support drilling for oil and gas 50 miles off Virginia's coast, and would emphasize green energy jobs by creating tax-free zones to encourage renewable energy technologies.

He said he wants to make Virginia the leading energy-producing state on the East Coast.

McDonnell is the lone Republican candidate for governor. Three Democrats are competing for that party's nomination: former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe of McLean, former Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria and state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County.

In Henrico, McDonnell spoke to about 500 people at J.R. Tucker High School in a gym festooned with campaign signs. He was accompanied by members of his family, Republican officeholders and his presumed Republican running mate, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. McDonnell is unopposed for his party's nomination, but Bolling has opposition from Patrick Muldoon, a lawyer and cattle farmer who divides his time between Giles County and Northern Virginia.

On the campaign trail, McDonnell has been portraying himself as a non-ideological problem solver.

At Mount Vernon Middle School, about a mile from the McDonnell rally, about 30 Democrats tried to paint a different picture of the 54-year-old lawyer.

"Bob McDonnell's got a tough sell if he aims to convince Virginians that he's different from the obstructionist Bob McDonnell that I've known for 15 years," said state Democratic Party Chairman C. Richard Cranwell of Vinton, who served with McDonnell in the House of Delegates.

"I know Bob McDonnell; Bob McDonnell is no moderate," said state Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico.

The Democrats' "Results not Roadblocks" tour followed McDonnell to Annandale, Henrico and Virginia Beach.

"It's like a grown-up version of follow the leader," J. Tucker Martin, McDonnell's press secretary, said of the Democrats.

In his lengthy remarks to the GOP faithful, McDonnell praised President Barack Obama's recent education proposals to reward good teachers with merit pay and to create more charter schools. McDonnell said he would reward principals who increase student achievement.

But he also said he would defend the rights of parents to teach their children at home, a cause favored by conservatives.

McDonnell said he places an emphasis on government frugality and called for independent audits of major state agencies. He noted that the state budget has doubled in the past 10 years and has grown 30 percent faster than the rate of inflation and population growth.

McDonnell said he would seek high-speed passenger rail service from Northern Virginia to Richmond and to Hampton Roads. He also would upgrade U.S. 460 between Hampton Roads and Petersburg, he said. He did not say how the transportation improvements would be paid for, but Bolling said they could be done without a tax increase.

In addition to talking about practical politics, McDonnell told the crowd that values matter. He promised to "defend innocent human life" during and after pregnancy. He said he would protect the rights of Virginians to own firearms and would strengthen private property rights.

He also said he would defend the state's right-to-work law, drawing groans from the audience when he said, "All three of my opponents recently stood in union picket lines in Northern Virginia."

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or .