Politics & Government

Election 2013: Attorney Gen. Democratic Candidate Mark Herring 'Deeply Disturbed' With Ken Cuccinelli and Opponent Mark Obenshain

Herring spoke in Springfield on Thursday night.

Virginia State Sen. Mark Herring (D-33rd), the Democratic candidate vying for the state attorney general seat, bashed opponent Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Shenandoah Valley) on Thursday in Springfield.

“Make no mistake about it, Mark Obenshain would be a continuation of what we've seen under Ken Cuccinelli and that's the wrong approach,” said Herring, who spoke to about 75 members of the Greenspring Retirement Community Democratic Club on Thurs. night. 

Herring said he is “deeply disturbed over abuses of power” by Cuccinelli, the Republican attorney general and gubernatorial candidate, and that the election of Obenshain would mean four more years of “extreme issues” coming from the attorney general’s office.  

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“Mark (Obenshain) has said that Ken Cuccinelli is a model that he would follow in the attorney general's office, that he would take the baton from Ken and keep running in the same direction,” said Herring. 

Herring is behind in campaign contributions. He’s raised $540,000 as of June 30, and has $127,680 cash on-hand versus Obenshain’s efforts, which have garnered $810,985 in total contributions and $487,044 cash on-hand as of June 30, 2013, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

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Herring and Obenshain agree on setting $100 limits on gifts to Virginia’s public officials and their immediate family members. The proposals come after McDonnell received (and later returned) about $150,000 in gifts from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams. Cuccinelli also received gifts from Williams - about $18,000 in trips and other items - that he has since refused to return.

“The fact remains a crisis of conscience has arisen as a result of what is going on in the governor’s office," said Obenshain to the Washington Post. "I think that’s all it takes for me to be satisfied that we need to restore confidence, and if by adopting restrictions on receiving gifts can help do that, I’m all for it.”



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