Ken Cuccinelli. The guy is a conservative rock star.
I don’t think there is any chance Ken would go that route. I think he’s in the “train of advancement” for governor, in two terms. Although I recently spoke with a well-connected figure in Virginia politics and he told me what the plan was, and I simply can’t remember.
Another name to watch is Corey Stewart, who currently is the Chair of the Prince William County BOS. Another long-shot would be Bob Marshall, who challenged Jim Gilmore in the convention for the 2008 race against Warner, and almost beat him (Gilmore was crushed by Warner of course in the General). But I haven’t seen any indication at this point that Marshall is interested in that, or of moving into a Virginia Senate seat (which I expected he might do, since they only run every 4 years, while delegates run every 2).
There are a lot of names available for this race, so it could be more interesting than is “comfortable”.
I like Cuccinelli, too. I’ve heard he wants to see his initiatives as Attorney General to the end. I’m interested in learning more about Peter Pace.