Governor Bob McDonnell

Robert Francis “Bob” McDonnell (born June 15, 1954)has been the 71^st Governor of Virginia since January 16, 2010. A former lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia from 2006 to 2009. He currently serves as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

McDonnell was elected as the Governor of Virginia on the back of the campaign slogan, “Bob’s for Jobs”,^[2] defeating Democratic state Senator Creigh Deeds by a 17-point margin in a 2009 general election marked by the late-2000s recession.  McDonnell was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol , to succeed Tim Kaine.

Since taking office, McDonnell has pushed for privatization, extending a contract to outsource the state’s computer operations and attempting to auction off the state’s ABC liquor stores, and promoted offshore drilling for Virginia. He has sought to fund transportation improvements from non-traditional revenues sources including the proposal to auction-off liquor stores. He has used his amendatory veto power to restrict state funding for abortions.