Susan Stimpson

The 2013 Republican Party of Virginia convention was the process by which the Republican Party of Virginia selected its nominees for the offices Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General for the 2013 general election in November. The convention was held on May 17 and 18, 2013, in the state capital of Richmond at the Richmond Coliseum.

Ken Cuccinelli's de facto nomination for governor was confirmed by acclamation at the convention. There were seven candidates for lieutenant governor; after an epic ten-hour, four-ballot battle, E.W. Jackson emerged as the nominee in an upset over better-funded candidates. Mark Obenshain narrowly defeated Rob Bell for the attorney general nomination.

In 2008, incumbent Lt. Governor Bill Bolling made a deal with then-Attorney General Bob McDonnell whereby McDonnell would run for governor and Bolling would run for re-election as lieutenant governor in 2009, and then Bolling would receive McDonnell's support for his own candidacy for governor in 2013. The deal was widely known and as such, Bolling was effectively running for Governor since 2009, and in April 2010, Bolling filed the necessary paperwork to run in 2013. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, elected alongside McDonnell and Bolling in 2009, stated that he intended to run for re-election as attorney general in 2013, but did not rule out running for Governor. In December 2011, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told his staff that he would run against Bolling for governor in 2013; the news went public, and in response, Bolling issued a statement accusing Cuccinelli of putting "his own personal ambition ahead of the best interests of the commonwealth and the Republican Party." This infuriated Bolling and set up a primary. Cuccinelli's announcement came two days before the annual statewide conference of Virginia Republicans, at which Bolling and his staff expressed being upset with Cuccinelli's decision.

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