Robert McDonnell

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Robert F. "Bob" McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army and a former U.S. prosecutor. He is currently the Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia in the 2009 election. Previously he served as state Attorney General from 2006-2009, before resigning to focus full time on his gubernatorial campaign. McDonnell's Democratic opponent is state Senator Creigh Deeds, whom he defeated in 2005 for attorney general. McDonnell has consistency lead Deeds in the polls by wide margins.

Career

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in northern Virginia, he attended the University of Notre Dame on an ROTC scholarship. During his twenty-one years in the army, McDonnell spent four years running a medical clinic in Germany. After marrying and raising a family, he graduated from Regent University in Virginia Beach in 1989 with a law degree and became a prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. McDonnell was first elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1992, defeating a twenty-year incumbent. He would go on to be reelected seven times, and would rise to the position of Assistant Majority Leader and Chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee. During his tenure he passed parental notification law for abortions, drunk driving laws and legislation to abolish the death tax.

As Attorney General McDonnell saw 83 of his 94 legislative proposals become law, including passing "Jessica’s Law" which established a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for certain sexual predators who commit violent crimes against children.

External Links

• Campaign Website