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William Troy Bolling (born June 15, 1957) is an American businessman, politician and educator who served as the 39th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2014. A member of the Republican party, he was elected twice to the position by defeating his Democratic opponent in both the
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and
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
general elections. He was the first lieutenant governor in the
Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
to serve two consecutive terms since
Don Beyer Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. ( ; born June 20, 1950) is an American businessman, diplomat, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in Northern Virginia and includ ...
. He was succeeded by Democrat
Ralph Northam Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric Neurology, neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the Medical Co ...
after the 2013 general election.


Early life, education, and early career

Bolling was born on June 15, 1957, in Sistersville,
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
. He was raised in the coal fields of
southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all V ...
and southern
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
. His father was a surface coal miner, and his mother was a
homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...
. As a 15-year-old, he volunteered to work on the re-election campaign of Republican
Governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
Arch Moore. He graduated from the University of Charleston (West Virginia) in 1978 with a B.S. degree in Political Science and was the first member of his family to graduate from college. He moved to Mechanicsville, Virginia, in 1981 when he accepted a job with a Virginia insurance company.


Political career


Hanover County Board of Supervisors

Bolling first ran for elected office in 1991 for a position on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors. Bolling won that office and served as a member of the Board until 1995. While a member, Bolling also served as the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.


Virginia Senate

In 1995, Bolling was elected to the
Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...
in a highly contested race against twenty-year Democratic incumbent Elmo G. Cross, Jr., for the 4th Senate District seat. Bolling defeated Cross by 574 votes out of 50,000 cast. The district then included Caroline,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
,
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
, King and Queen, King William,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, counties, as well as a part of Spotsylvania County. However, this district had been trending Republican for some time at the national level. Proving this, Bolling was unopposed for reelection in 1999 and 2003. As a member of the General Assembly, Bolling served as Chairman of the Joint Republican Caucus, the Virginia Republican Senatorial Committee, Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on Health Care, the Commission on the Future of Virginia's Environment, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission.


Lieutenant Governor of Virginia


Elections

In 2005, Bolling ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. In the Republican primary, he defeated Sean Connaughton with 58% of the vote. In the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
, he defeated Democratic nominee and state Senator Leslie Larkin Byrne 50%-49%. He won even though the Republican nominee for governor Jerry Kilgore lost the
gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
. In 2009, Bolling ran for re-election. He defeated Democratic nominee Jody Wagner with 57% of the vote.


Tenure


Kaine administration

Bolling was inaugurated as lieutenant governor on January 14, 2006, in
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
, along with the other Executive Branch officers, including Democratic Governor
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States ...
and Attorney General Bob McDonnell. Upon his re-election in 2009, Bolling became the first Virginia lieutenant governor since
Don Beyer Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. ( ; born June 20, 1950) is an American businessman, diplomat, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in Northern Virginia and includ ...
to be elected to two consecutive terms. As lieutenant governor, Bolling promoted multiple programs, including his September program focused on encouraging a healthy and active life, his Ending
Cervical Cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...
in our Lifetime program focused on raising awareness about Cervical Cancer and HPV, and his Helping Virginians Breathe Easier campaign focused on asthma awareness. Additionally, as lieutenant governor, Bolling proposed a statewide initiative, "100 Ideas for the Future of Virginia." This two-year program focused on gathering public feedback and ideas through a series of town hall meetings, mailings, and an integrated website. This program focused on promoting feedback from the people of Virginia to develop a long-term strategy for addressing issues like education, transportation, public safety, health care, protecting the environment, reforming government, and more.


McDonnell administration

Bolling was one of the newly elected Governor McDonnell's first cabinet members, and was appointed as Chief Jobs Creation Officer, overseeing the state’s economic development programs. Regarding creation of the position, McDonnell stated, "I'm going to turn him into the busiest lieutenant governor in the nation." In March 2010, Bolling announced, on behalf of Governor McDonnell, $10 million in rebates for home owners and
small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...
es to reduce energy costs and to increase usage of solar and wind energy. In June 2010, Bolling announced $800,000 from the Virginia government to
James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...
to further research in wind energy, including "turbine testing, research and curriculum"


2013 gubernatorial campaign

In early 2008, Bolling and then-Attorney General McDonnell struck a deal in which Bolling agreed to run for re-election as lieutenant governor to allow McDonnell to run unopposed for governor in 2009, in exchange for McDonnell's support for Bolling 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 Kenneth Thomas "Cooch” Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Pa ...
, 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, Cuccinelli announced to 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." 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. In 2012, Bolling was the Virginia state Chairman of Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, a position he hoped to use to curry favor from a potential Romney administration and increase his own name recognition among state Republicans. Through the second quarter of 2012, Bolling had a significant edge in fundraising over Cuccinelli. However, Bolling's hopes of becoming the Republican nominee were dealt a serious setback in June 2012 when the Republican Party of Virginia's State Central Committee decided to nominate candidates for statewide office in a closed party convention, rather than an open statewide primary. It was felt that a convention would favor Cuccinelli because Republican conventions in Virginia are typically dominated by conservatives, who backed Cuccinelli over the more moderate Bolling. On November 28, 2012, Bolling announced that he was suspending his campaign. He said that "the decision to change the method of nomination from a primary to a convention created too many obstacles for us to overcome", and that he didn't want to "create deep divisions within our party." He refused to endorse Cuccinelli, saying, "I have serious reservations about his ability to effectively and responsibly lead our state." After suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination, Bolling considered running as an independent, but decided against it. Bolling also rejected the possibility of a
write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...
effort, citing an inability to raise enough money to run a successful campaign. However, Bolling continued to comment on the race and the policy proposals of both the Democratic nominee,
Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...
, and the Republican nominee,
Ken Cuccinelli Kenneth Thomas "Cooch” Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Pa ...
. During the campaign, McAuliffe informally offered Bolling a position in his administration, but Bolling was ultimately never appointed.


Electoral history


Business career

Professionally, Bolling spent his entire career in the insurance business. He served as a Vice President with Riggs, Counselman, Michaels and Downes, one of the nation’s independent insurance agencies, but took a leave of absence from the firm in 2018 to pursue a career in teaching. In October 2018, Bolling accepted an appointment as a Senior Fellow at James Madison University, where he did extensive guest lecturing in political science and served as an advisor to the president of the university. Bolling finished his fellowship at JMU in June 2019 and returned to his home in Richmond. As of 2025, Bolling teaches political science at George Mason University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Richmond.


Personal life

On August 6, 1978, Bolling married Jean Ann Kincaid, whom he met in college. They have two sons. Matthew Bolling received a degree in computer engineering from Virginia Tech in 2006. Kevin Bolling graduated with a degree in Business from James Madison University in 2010.


References


External links


Senate of Virginia: Bill Bolling

Bolling for Governor Official website


Jim Nolan, Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 29, 2011 * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bolling, Bill 1957 births Lieutenant governors of Virginia Living people People from Sistersville, West Virginia University of Charleston alumni Republican Party Virginia state senators People from Mechanicsville, Virginia 20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly