Breaking news today on the Attorney General front — Fairfax County Circuit Court Clerk John Frey has withdrawn from the race for Attorney General of the Commonwealth. You can see his press release here: Press Release 11-19-12 John Frey withdraws from the race for Attorney General.
While this blog does not endorse one candidate over another or one political party over another, John’s presence will be missed in the race. Republicans have two fine candidates in the race still, Del. Rob Bell and state Sen. Mark Obenshain…but I am one of those people that thinks the primary and/or convention process ultimately creates a stronger candidate for the office. By that standard, we should have two strong candidates this year, because the Democrats also have three candidates competing for the nomination.
I know some folks dismissed his candidacy — and certainly he was outraised money-wise — but Frey still had somethings that no other candidate could claim. For example, he has won several competitive campaigns for office county-wide in Fairfax County, the most populous county in the Commonwealth. Not one of the other five men competing for Attorney General can claim that.
And the silver lining is that we can now look forward to Mr. Frey continuing to run the Fairfax County Circuit Court with the same efficiency and skill lawyers have come to expect.
The Attorney General race is going to start getting interesting folks so stay tuned!