Bill Bolling, Virginia's lieutenant governor, has decided not to seek the Republican nomination for governor next year, clearing the way for a high-profile battle between the state's conservative attorney general and an ally of former President Bill Clinton.
Sources familiar with Mr. Bolling's decision said he planned to announce it Wednesday morning. Mr. Bolling is in his second four-year term as lieutenant governor and had been widely expected to seek the state's top elected job.
His decision means Republicans will avoid a costly and potentially damaging nominating contest between Mr. Bolling and Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, the attorney general. Last year the Republicans decided they would choose the nominee at a state party convention, rather than in a primary, a move that was seen as a victory for Mr. Cuccinelli, who is popular among conservative activists who are likely to attend.
Mr. Cuccinelli, a Tea Party favorite, has supported conservative social legislation, including limits on abortion clinics in the state. He was also a leading voice nationally in the fight against President Obama‘s health care legislation, filing the first legal challenge to the law.
He is likely to be challenged for the party's nomination by some less well known Republicans. But if he gets the nomination, Mr. Cuccinelli will probably face Terry McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a fund-raiser and confidant of Mr. Clinton.
Mr. McAuliffe sought the Democratic nomination for governor four years ago, but lost in a primary campaign against Creigh Deeds, a Democratic state senator. Mr. Deeds went on to lose the governorship to Robert F. McDonnell, the state's current Republican governor.
Virginia is one of two states that elect governors a year before Congressional midterm elections (New Jersey is the other). The results of these races are sometimes viewed as an ear ly indicator of the country's political mood in the year after a presidential campaign.
In Virginia, the race for the executive mansion in Richmond is likely to be a costly one. Mr. McAuliffe was a prolific fund-raiser for Mr. Clinton and is likely to raise millions of dollars in his bid to win the office that Thomas Jefferson once held.
But Mr. Cuccinelli is sure to be the recipient of donations from national Tea Party and conservative organizations.
The clash between the two men would play out against the backdrop of a state that has been changing demographically and politically. Tim Kaine, the state's former Democratic governor, won a seat in the United States Senate earlier this month and Mr. Obama won Virginia for the second time.
Both Democrats won in part by tapping into a growing minority population in the state and by appealing to the state's populous Northern Virginia region.
But parts of the state remain very conservative, and Mr. Cuc cinelli is from Northern Virginia, where he hopes to perform better than some previous Republicans. Mitt Romney lost the state in his battle with Mr. Obama in part by underperforming in key suburban parts of the state.
Mr. Bolling was Mr. Romney's state chairman.
Follow Michael D. Shear on Twitter at @shearm.
