Two-term Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who stepped aside for McDonnell in 2009, will be running for governor in 2013, so I don’t think that Cuccinelli will be running for governor any earlier than 2017. Cuccinelli could run for the Senate in 2012 and, in the unlikely event that he loses the election, he could run for reelection as AG in 2013 and then run for governor in 2017.
That’s all fine and dandy, except that Cuccinelli has said:
1) He’s not interested in running for the Senate in 2012
2) He hasn’t decided whether or not he will challenge Bolling for the nomination.
He has said that his current intentions are to run for re-election.