AG candidates burnish conservative credentials before GOP convention
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer

05/26/09 8:32 PM EDT Virginia’s most fervent Republicans will gather in Richmond this weekend after being selected as delegates to pick a GOP candidate for the attorney general’s race.

The battle over the nomination for the state’s top lawyer is expected to draw the most attention at the 2009 Republican state convention, which kicks off Friday. For uncontested gubernatorial nominee Robert McDonnell, the two-day event will serve as more of a pep rally.

Organizers say more than 11,000 delegates, alternates and guests plan to attend.

The convention format will draw a more hard-core subset of the electorate than a primary, leading the three Republicans seeking the AG nomination to burnish their conservative bona fides.

State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli and former U.S. Attorney John Brownlee, especially, are locked in a race to win the party’s conservative base.

Cuccinelli is touting his anti-tax, anti-illegal immigration, pro-life legislative record.

“I have a track record, I have over 20,000 votes, and neither of my opponents do,â€