Lt. Gov Bill Bolling will drop his bid for Virginia governor, CNN and Politico reported Tuesday evening.
The Republican, who is now in his second term as lieutenant governor and served as Mitt Romney's Virginia campaign chair during the 2012 election, is expected to announce Wednesday morning that he will no longer seek the GOP nomination, clearing the path for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to become the Republican nominee in 2013. Cuccinelli, a rising star in the conservative wing of the party, announced his plan to run in late 2011.
Earlier this month, Bolling warned his party against nominating "firebrand" conservative candidates, pointing to the tight presidential election results in the state as evidence.
"If we're going to win these races in Virginia going forward, we’ve got to be very smart and our efforts have to be very targeted," Bolling said. "We have to nominate candidates who can not only energize the base of our party, but can also reach out to the more moderate independent voters."
On the Democratic side, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) announced last week that he has no intention to run, leaving former Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe as the likely frontrunner for the nomination.
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