Cuccinelli, Bolling join McDonnell

State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli scored a firstballot victory yesterday for the Republican attorney general nomination, completing a conservative ticket anchored by Bob McDonnell for governor and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.

Cuccinelli, 40, and Bolling, 51, won by such wide margins at the state Republican convention in Richmond that they were declared victors by acclamation.

McDonnell, 54, was unopposed for the gubernatorial nomination. In his acceptance speech, McDonnell drew some of his loudest applause when he said he will be a staunch defender of "innocent human life," as well as the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

McDonnell also said he would emphasize the economy.

"To every Virginian who needs a job, to every small-business owner trying to make payroll, to very retiree alarmed at losses in their retirement account, to every homeowner concerned about their home value, to every parent writing that next tuition check, to every clergyman fighting to keep a strong community, to every young person who just wants an opportunity to live and experience the American dream, this campaign is for you," he declared.

Afterward, the three nominees were joined on the podium by their families as a crowd of upbeat Republicans began leaving the Richmond Coliseum. McDonnell has five children, Cuccinelli, six, and Bolling, two.

At a news conference, McDonnell said he would not shy away from his conservative credentials and would emphasize the experience of three candidates with 40 years combined service in state and local government.

An estimated 10,000 people crowded into the Richmond Coliseum, but many were guests and the delegate total of 7,100 fell well short of the almost 11,000 delegates who had been elected at mass meetings around the state in February and March.

Cuccinelli, who defeated former federal prosecutor John Brownlee of Roanoke and former school board member Dave Foster of Arlington, is considered one of the most conservative members of the Virginia Senate, where he is a leading opponent of abortion and an advocate of gun and property rights.

McDonnell's initial television advertisements do not mention that he is a Republican. Asked by reporters how he could run a middle-of-the-road campaign with Cuccinelli as a running-mate, McDonnell dismissed the question.

"I am a committed conservative," he said.

Bolling, who won 83 percent of the vote over lawyer-farmer Patrick Muldoon, said, "This campaign will be about getting the economy moving again."

The delegates, who spent the day listening to dozens of speeches in which President Ronald Reagan was frequently invoked, also easily re-elected Pat Mullins of Louisa County as the party chairman. Mullins was installed as chairman by party leaders about a month ago after a coup that brought down Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick of Prince William County.

Mullins defeated Bill Stanley, the Franklin County Republican chairman, who hoped to capitalize on anger over Frederick's ouster.

The stakes could not be higher for Virginia Republicans, who have been on a losing streak in statewide elections.

But activists said they detected a new energy within the party, brought on by the Democratic sweep of 2008 -- in which Mark R. Warner won a U.S. Senate seat, Democrats took over the majority in the state's U.S. House delegation and Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate in 44 years to carry the state. Activists say the state GOP also is motivated by anger over the economic policies of the new majority in Washington.

"Over the last eight years, the Democrats have had the advantage of passion, even when we were winning," said Dave Johnson of Henrico County. "But I'm sensing a rekindling of that passion among Republicans."

Nationally, too, the GOP has much on the line, hoping a win here will signal a comeback and a refutation of Obama.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in a written statement that McDonnell's candidacy "is part of a Republican renaissance that starts this year in Virginia."

Virginia and New Jersey are the only states choosing governors this year. Because both states fell to Obama in 2008, their elections could be viewed as referendums on the new president.

Democrats, who finish assembling their ticket in a June 9 primary, depicted McDonnell and his running mates as out of touch with Virginia -- too conservative for a suburban-dominated state.

Levar Stoney, executive director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, issued a statement in which he branded the GOP ticket "the most divisive . . . in modern Virginia history."

Stoney noted that all three Republicans had opposed, among other things, $125 million in federal aid to expand eligibility for jobless benefits.

But delegates to the Republican convention predicted that a backlash to Obama economic policies would help the Virginia ticket.

"We see the American dream being compromised," said Robert Warren of James City County. "The American dream is a dream of individualism, not a dream of collectivism."

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

Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or .