Rob Bell will announce GOP candidacy for attorney general

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Republican Delegate Rob Bell of Albemarle will announce later this week that he will seek the party’s nomination for attorney general, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. This will be Bell’s second bid for the position that he lost in 2013 to Mark Obenshain who went on to lose to Democrat Mark Herring.

Ed Gillespie has announced he will seek the GOP nomination for governor in 2017.

Rob Bell has tried for years to get a Tebow Bill passed to allow homeschool athletes to play with their local public school teams like former professional football player Tim Tebow did on his way to becoming a Denver Bronco quarterback.

The Republican nominee will run against Herring who has already announced he will seek re-election as attorney general.

Grassroots for Rob Bell Facebook page.

Agreement reached to keep Sweet Briar College open

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The news was released Saturday evening that Sweet Briar College would stay open at least for one more year. Attorney General Mark Herring made the announcement in a press release:

Today, Attorney General Mark Herring announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been agreed upon by Amherst County Attorney Ellen Bowyer, Saving Sweet Briar, Sweet Briar College and the Office of the Attorney General outlining a plan to keep Sweet Briar open. This agreement was reached after hundreds of hours of mediation and discussion among all parties led by the Office of the Attorney General. Per the MOU, the parties will appear Monday, June 22 before Judge Updike and seek his approval of the Settlement Agreement. Attorney General Mark Herring released the following statement on today’s agreement:

Déjà vu with shades of blue

By Lynn R. Mitchell

In 2009 Virginia Republicans faced a possible blood bath between their top two state officials. Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and Attorney General Bob McDonnell both had their eyes on the gubernatorial race, and long-time activists, volunteers, and supporters were dreading the split a battle between the two could do to the party. As a result, Bill Bolling stepped away from the plate, leaving the nomination for Bob McDonnell, and a unified Republican Party went on to sweep the Top 3 state offices with Bob McDonnell winning governor and Bill Bolling reelected as lieutenant governor.

Fast forward to 2015 and the news that both Democratic Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam and Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring have indicated they will run for the gubernatorial nomination (see Ralph Northam confirms he’s running to become next Va. governor):