Cranwell May Run for LG

C. Richard Cranwell, chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, is considering running for lieutenant governor next year.

Cranwell, a 30-year fixture in the House of Delegates who plans to step down from his post when his term expires in 2009, told friends that he is considering running for the Democratic nomination in 2009.

House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry) said he will wait to decide who to support until Cranwell makes his decision.

"I learned a lot from him,'' Armstrong said. "He's one of the best legislators I have known."

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) plans to run for re-election.

Democrat Jon Bowerbank, a businessman and member of the Russell County Board of Supervisors, is already running. Democrat Jody M. Wagner, who resigned last week as state secretary of finance, is expected to announce in the coming days that she will run.