Republican Bob McDonnell's years in the attorney general's office allowed him to flex some legal muscle and make important inroads with police officers and commonwealth's attorneys.
On Thursday, the legal and law enforcement community paid McDonnell back, throwing their support behind his bid for the governor's office. McDonnell's campaign trotted out more than 100 supporters that hail from all over the state. Democrat Creigh Deeds was probably expecting McDonnell to have a hearty crowd of backers in the law enforcement community, but it's probably still tough to look at such a laundry list.
For McDonnell's campaign the names and the support will allow his campaign to craft specific pitches in each of the local communities. He can tell Virgina Beach residents that their commonwealth's attorney and sheriff are both on his side. He can tell folks in Hampton that Linda Curtis is behind him.
Here's a quote from Harvey Bryant:
Speaking about the law enforcement coalition, Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney, Harvey Bryant noted, "As Attorney General, Bob McDonnell focused on policies that truly made for a safer, stronger and more prosperous Virginia. His exemplary efforts to crack down on sex predators, combat gangs, and strengthen Virginia's mental health laws are just a few examples that illustrate why he is ready to serve as Virginia's next Governor."
It's an important feather in McDonnell's cap and the list is expansive, but you also have to remember that the AG's office is very different from the governor's office and people treat those responsibilities differently. Here's a pullout of some prominent local names, click below for the full count.
Eileen Addison
Commonwealth's Attorney, York County and Poquoson
Harvey
BryantCommonwealth's Attorney, City of Virginia Beach
Linda
CurtisCommonwealth's Attorney, City of Hampton
Nate Green
Commonwealth's Attorney, Williamsburg/James City County
Robert Deeds
Sheriff, City of Williamsburg and James City County
J.D. Diggs
Sheriff, York County and Poquoson
Paul Lanteigne
Sheriff, City of Virginia Beach
Earle Mobley
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Portsmouth
John Newhart
Sheriff, City of Chesapeake
Nancy Parr
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Chesapeake
Guy L. Abbott
Sheriff, Middlesex County
Eileen Addison
Commonwealth's Attorney, York County and Poquoson
James L. Agnew
Sheriff, Goochland County
H.E. "Bucky" Allin III
Sheriff, Prince George County
Mark Amos
Sheriff, Orange County
Greg Anderson
Sheriff, City of Hopewell
Mark Armentrout
Sheriff, City of Radford
Dean J. Atkins
Commonwealth's Attorney, Westmoreland County
Carl Baker
Former Superintendent of State Police
Retired Chief of Police, Chesterfield County
Robert "Bob" Beasley
Commonwealth's Attorney, Powhatan County
Tom Bowers
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Salem
Joel Branscom
Commonwealth's Attorney, Botetourt County
William "Bill" B. Bray
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Colonial Heights
Matt Britton
Commonwealth's Attorney, King George County
Mike Brown
Sheriff, Bedford County
Harvey Bryant
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Virginia Beach
Alexander Caldwell
Sheriff, City of Staunton
Tim Carter
Sheriff, Shenandoah County
Lisa Caruso
Commonwealth's Attorney, Dinwiddie County
Trip Chalkley
Commonwealth's Attorney, Hanover County
Daniel Chichester
Commonwealth's Attorney, Stafford County
Gary Close
Commonwealth's Attorney, Culpeper County
Stuart Cook
Sheriff, Hanover County
Ronald D. Crockett
Sheriff, Lancaster County
Linda Curtis
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Hampton
William "Billy" Davenport
Commonwealth's Attorney, Chesterfield County
Robert Deeds
Sheriff, City of Williamsburg and James City County
J.D. Diggs
Sheriff, York County and Poquoson
Ronald "Ron" Elkins
Commonwealth's Attorney, Wise County
Donald Farley
Sheriff, Rockingham County
Brad Finch
Commonwealth's Attorney, Montgomery County
Randy Fisher
Sheriff, Augusta County
Ray Foster
Sheriff, Buchanan County
Danny Fox
Sheriff, Mecklenburg County
Terry Gaddy
Sheriff, Campbell County
Macdowell "Mac" Garrett
Commonwealth's Attorney, Essex County
Tom Garrett
Commonwealth's Attorney, Louisa County
Marsha Garst
Commonwealth's Attorney, Rockingham County and City of Harrisonburg
Ronald L. Gillispie
Sheriff, City of Lynchburg
Greg Goad
Commonwealth's Attorney, Carroll County
Nate Green
Commonwealth's Attorney, Williamsburg/James City County
David Grimes
Commonwealth's Attorney, Pittsylvania County
Jeffrey Haislip
Commonwealth's Attorney, Fluvanna County
Bobby Hammons
Sheriff, Dickenson County
Joe Harris, Jr.
Sheriff, City of Waynesboro
John Hennessy
Commonwealth's Attorney, Page County
Paul Higgs
Sheriff, City of Fredericksburg
Glendell "Glenn" Hill
Sheriff, Prince William County
Shawn Hines
Commonwealth's Attorney, Lee County
Darrell Hodges
Sheriff, Cumberland County
Farrar W. Howard, Jr.
Sheriff, New Kent County
Danny C. Howlett
Sheriff, Matthews County
Alexander Iden
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Winchester
Charles "Charlie" Jett
Sheriff, Stafford County
Octavia Johnson
Sheriff, City of Roanoke
Thomas D. Jones
Sheriff, Charlotte County
Robert "Bucky" Joyce
Commonwealth's Attorney, Rockbridge County
Douglas King
Sheriff, Wythe County
Wade Kizer
Commonwealth's Attorney, Henrico County
Randy Krantz
Commonwealth's Attorney, Bedford County
Paul Lanteigne
Sheriff, City of Virginia Beach
Edwin "Randy" Leach
Commonwealth's Attorney, Roanoke County
Anthony Lippa
Sheriff, Caroline County
Gerald E. Mabe II
Commonwealth's Attorney, Wythe County
Brian Madden
Commonwealth's Attorney, Warren County
Stephanie Maddox
Commonwealth's Attorney, Amherst County
H.W. "Warren" Manning
Sheriff, Carroll County
Marcus McClung
Commonwealth's Attorney, Scott County
Daniel McEathron
Sheriff, Warren County
Albert Mitchell
Commonwealth's Attorney, Shenandoah County
Earle Mobley
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Portsmouth
Greg Neal
Sheriff, Powhatan County
Tamara C. Neo
Commonwealth's Attorney, Buchanan County
John Newhart
Sheriff, City of Chesapeake
Stanley Noblin
Sheriff, Halifax County
Ronnie "R.D." Oakes
Sheriff, Wise County
Everette B. Obenshain Jr
Retired Sheriff, City of Salem
Stephen "Steve" Palmer
Commonwealth's Attorney, King William County
Nancy Parr
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Chesapeake
Phil Payne
Commonwealth's Attorney, Nelson County
Jay C. Paul
Commonwealth's's Attorney, Prince George County
Carl Peed
Retired Sheriff, Fairfax County
Charles W. Phelps
Sheriff, Isle of Wight County
James Plowman
Commonwealth's Attorney, Loudoun County
Dennis Proffitt
Sheriff, Chesterfield County
Gary Reynolds
Retired Chief of Police, City of Winchester
Dusty Rhodes
Sheriff, Dinwiddie County
Ed Robb
Retired Sheriff, Albemarle County
C. Jeffers Schmidt, Jr.
Commonwealth's Attorney, Lancaster County
Stephen "Steve" Simpson
Sheriff, Loudoun County
Howard Smith
Sheriff, Spotsylvania County
Ronald "Ronnie" Sprinkle
Sheriff, Botetourt County
Phillip C. Steele
Commonwealth's Attorney, Giles County
Claiborne Stokes
Commonwealth's Attorney, Goochland County
James D. Swinson
Retired Sheriff, Fairfax County
Anthony N. Sylvester
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Hopewell
Mike Taylor
Sheriff, Pittsylvania County
John Thomas
Sheriff, Page County
Jerry Thompson
Sheriff, Bland County
Neil Vener
Commonwealth's Attorney, Campbell County
Mike Wade
Sheriff, Henrico County
E. C. Walton
Sheriff, King and Queen County
J.S. Walton
Sheriff, King William County
Patricia "Patti" T. Watson
Commonwealth's Attorney, Greensville County
Diana H. Wheeler
Commonwealth's Attorney, Orange County
Kim White
Commonwealth's Attorney, Halifax County
Glenn Williamson
Commonwealth's Attorney, Frederick County
Robert Williamson
Sheriff, Frederick County
Todd Wilson
Sheriff, City of Colonial Heights
Jerry Allen Wolfe
Commonwealth's Attorney, City of Bristol
Shannon B. Zeman
Sheriff, Floyd County
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