Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was named chairman of the Republican Governors Association on Monday, replacing Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who stepped down to run for president. The move is fueling the perception of McDonnell as a rising star within the Republican Party and a possible vice presidential pick for the 2012 Republican ticket. McDonnell recently told Politico he would be “very interested” in running for vice president.
“It’s obvious he wants it. It’s obvious he’ll take it,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. McDonnell, he said, would be “prominently” featured on a list of potential GOP vice presidential picks.
Taking the reins of the RGA will likely give McDonnell a chance to meet with the Republican Party’s wealthiest donors as he travels to raise cash and rally support for GOP gubernatorial candidates around the country.
McDonnell, who was vice chairman of the RGA before taking over for Perry, said he expects the RGA to be “in a position to have an unprecedented impact this election cycle.”
But a spokesman for the governor said McDonnell wouldn’t be distracted by his new role.
“The best analogy to which to liken the post is if a businesswoman serves for a year as voluntary head of her local chamber of commerce. No one would say she’s taken a second job, such an assertion would be laughable,” spokesman Tucker Martin said. “The governor is focused on his only job, serving as governor of the commonwealth of Virginia.”
Past chairmen of the RGA include Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour and Ronald Reagan.
The new appointment pits McDonnell, who by law can only serve a single term as governor, against his counterpart across the Potomac, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who heads the Democratic Governors Association.
