Will Bill Bolling Run for Governor of Virginia?

Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe could get some company in the race for governor of Virginia. 

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, told a dinner crowd Wednesday night in Richmond to save March 14 for a big announcement, the AP reports. 

Bolling, currently serving his second term as lieutenant governor, decided to quit the Republican race for Virginia governor after conservatives loyal to his intraparty rival, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, took a majority of seats on the state GOP's central committee and opted for a closed nominating convention instead of an open primary.

"[Bolling] has been very successful in staking out positions that have gotten him a lot of attention this year," Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, told the Washington Examiner, in a report published Sunday. "If Bolling is planning on not running, it doesn't seem likely he'd be nearly this visible."

Bolling, 55, and his wife have two sons and live in Mechanicsville, a suburb of Richmond. He is a vice president of a Virginia insurance company.

A Jan. 9 poll by Quinnipiac University showed Bolling garnering 13 percent of the vote for Virginia governor with Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe getting 34 percent each. The election is in November. 

Cuccinelli, 44, a resident with his wife and seven children of Nokesville, in Prince William County,announced his bid for governor March 22, 2012. 

Democrat McAuliffe, a resident with his wife and five children of McLean, threw his hat in the ring Nov. 8. McAuliffe, former head of the Democratic National Committee, plans to open a campaign office Saturday in Rosslyn. He turns 56 that day. He owns an electric car company.

He ran an unsuccessful bid to be the Democratic nominee in 2009 but lost to Creigh Deeds. Deeds lost the general election to Republican Bob McDonnell.

What's your prediction for the Virginia governor's race? Tell us in the comments!