Richmond, Va. — The Senate Courts of Justice Committee nominated former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for a state Supreme Court seat, according to Senate Republicans, according to CBS 6.
The state Senate will back the conservative politician’s nomination, but the GOP majority plan was to nominate Appeals Court Judge Rossie Alston, according to Daily Press reporter Travis Fain.
Cuccinelli has been nominated to a seat currently filled by Governor Terry McAuliffe’s recess appointment. McAuliffe’s appointment of Supreme Court Justice Jane Marum Roush has lapsed.
Back in October 2015, news broke that former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie is preparing a run for Virginia governor in 2017,Cuccinelli told CNN he had not ruled out a run himself.
State Senator Glen Sturtevant, R-Richmond, backed Cuccinelli. Sturtevant was the key vote against Alston’s nomination.
According to CNN, Cuccinelli narrowly lost a race for governor to Terry McAuliffe in 2013.
