Republican Ken Cuccinelli wins Va. attorney general seat

The Virginian-Pilot and The Roanoke Times

RICHMOND

Riding the Republican wave of victories in statewide offices Tuesday, Ken T. Cuccinelli II trounced his Democratic opponent, Stephen C. Shannon, in the race to become Virginia’s next attorney general.

At the GOP victory party in Richmond, Cuccinelli took the stage with a broom he dubbed “McBollinelli,” gripping its blue handle and whisking it across the stage to symbolize the sweep by the three GOP statewide candidates.

He pledged to “keep an eye on Washington” and ward off “government intervention.”

“We are coming into office with a mandate from the people of Virginia to alter the course of change in Virginia,” he said.

Shannon made public safety a top issue in his campaign and said he would support Cuccinelli in efforts where the candidates have common ground,

“I know Ken also has an interest in combating gang activity,” Shannon said. “ I know he has an interest in combating Internet predators who prey on children. And that’s something that I want to work on with him. I think these are not Republican ideas and these are not Democratic ideas that need to be addressed. … We all have an obligation to address them.”

Cuccinelli, 41, a state senator from Fairfax County, is a favorite of his party’s conservative wing and campaigned as much on social and national political issues as on the public safety duties of the office.

He vowed to protect life “from conception to natural death” and to protect individuals’ right to own guns for any lawful reason. He also touted his legislative efforts to fight methamphetamines, increase penalties for gang-related crimes, and detain sex offenders for mental health reasons after their criminal sentences end.

Shannon, 38, a state delegate from Vienna, touted his experience as a prosecutor and highlighted issues such as gang violence, sexual predators and family safety. In his view, the attorney general sets the tone for law enforcement throughout the state, and he argued that Cuccinelli doesn’t have the experience to pull that off.

Cuccinelli responded that Shannon served as a prosecutor for only three years.

In an interview before the election, Cuccinelli said making the change from a legislator to attorney general would “require a bit of a shift in how I function, but still the bully pulpit is there. And I’ll certainly use it. But I think what you’ll find is I’ll use it to address events and political debates that arise rather than stoking them.”