Mark Obenshain

Mark Obenshain

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ An aide to Virginia Republican state Sen. Mark Obenshain says Obenshain will not be running for governor in 2017. Nick Collette, a political director for Obenshain, said Monday that his boss has made a decision not to run for statewide office in 2017. Obenshain narrowly lost the state attorney general election in 2013 and was widely viewed as a possible GOP gubernatorial candidate. Collette said Obenshain had made the decision not to run for personal reasons. Other potential GOP candidates for governor include former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.