Republican Rob Bell vows to oust Herring as Va. attorney general
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Version 0 of 1. RICHMOND — Del. Rob B. Bell III on Thursday formally announced that he is running for Virginia attorney general in 2017, vowing to oust an incumbent he characterized as a liberal crusader. Bell (R-Albemarle) tried once before to become Virginia’s top lawyer and law enforcement officer. He lost a GOP nomination battle in 2013 to state Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R-Rockingham), who narrowly lost the general election to Mark R. Herring (D). No other Republican has announced for the office. Bell kicked off his campaign at a news conference focused largely on differences between him and Herring, who announced in September that he would seek reelection. “When he ran for attorney general in 2013, Mark Herring said, ‘I’m running for attorney general to take politics out of the office,’ ” Bell said. “His record shows he has done just the opposite. As a Washington Post columnist stated, Herring has emerged as ‘the new face of crusading liberalism.’ ” [Herring will seek reelection instead of running for Va. governor] The Democratic Party of Virginia called Bell a conservative “extremist” on abortion, comparing him to former attorney general Ken Cuccinelli II (R). “Rob Bell would return to the Cuccinelli approach in the attorney general’s office: out of step with Virginia’s mainstream and the law,” said party Chairwoman Susan Swecker. Adam Zuckerman, political director at Herring’s One Commonwealth political action committee, said: “Mark Herring is right where Virginians are on the issues and, equally importantly, right on the law.” Herring has taken legal steps on behalf of same-sex marriage, abortion rights and immigration since taking office in 2014. That has endeared him to liberal Democrats but angered conservatives such as Bell. “If elected, I would be proud to serve as the lawyer for my client — the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Bell said. “The issue is not whether I agree with a law or like a law or voted for a law. The issue is the rule of law — the idea that when a law is properly passed and signed by the governor, it is the law of Virginia, and Virginia’s lawyer should defend it in court.” Bell has opposed same-sex marriage but said he accepts the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June that gay couples have a right to marry nationwide. “The Supreme Court has ruled,” he said. “It’s the high court of the land.” |