Bob McDonnell is the Governor-elect of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Republican defeated Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds in the election held November 3, 2009. Previously, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates and as Virginia's Attorney General.http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2009/02/mcdonnell_resigns.html

McDonnell has attracted controversy because of a thesis he wrote in 1989 at Regent University, in which he decried working women as "detrimental" to the family and criticized the United States Supreme Court decision which legalized the use of contraceptives by married couples. The thesis contained other right wing views that some consider extreme. McDonnell later stated that the thesis "was simply an academic exercise and clearly does not reflect my views."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/29/AR2009082902434.html?hpid=topnews http://www.regent.edu/publications/cl/features/ss_06/mcdonnell.cfm

Robert F. McDonnell is the Republican Governor-Elect of Virginia. From 1992-2005 McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 84th District of Virginia, and in 2006 became the Attorney General of Virginia. He will be sworn in as Governor on January 14, 2010.http://www.bobmcdonnell.com/index.php/site/meet_bob/

Bob McDonnell was born on June 15, 1954 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised in Alexandria, Virginia, where he graduated from Bishop Ireton High School in 1972. In 1976 he graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. degree in Management. In 1980 he received an M.S.B.A from Boston University, and in 1989 earned a M.A/J.D. from the Regent University School of Law.http://www.bobmcdonnell.com/index.php/site/meet_bob/

McDonnell served in the U.S. Army for four years from 1976-1980, and a further 16 years in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1981-1997. He eventually retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.http://www.bobmcdonnell.com/index.php/site/meet_bob/

McDonnell is married to Maureen Patricia McDonnell for 32 years. They have a total of five children, Jeanine, Cailin, Rachel, Bobby, and Sean.http://www.bobmcdonnell.com/index.php/site/meet_bob/

McDonnell's political career began while he was still at law school, when he served an internship in Washington, D.C. with the House Republican Policy Committee. Upon graduating from law school in 1989, he became a prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. In 1991 he campaigned for and won election to the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 84th District.

In 2005, McDonnell ran for and won election to the office of Attorney General of Virgina. On February 20, 2009, he stepped down from his position as Attorney General to run for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. On November 3, 2009, he was elected governor, defeating the Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds by 59% to 41% in the final voting results.http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1934361,00.html

During his 14 year legislative career in the Virginia House of Delegates, McDonnell was Chief Patron of many legislative bills. Among them was the Juvenile Justice Reform Initiative, which was the first step towards restructuring the Juvenile code in the state, incorporating graduated sanctions for the sentencing of juvenile offenders based on the severity of the crime and potential for repeat offenses.http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/PUBS/reform/ch2_i.htmlhttp://www.regent.edu/news_events/?article_id=182&view=full_article

As the Assistant Majority Leader and as Chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee in the Virginia House of Delegates, McDonnell was also the Chief Patron of Virginia's Welfare Reform legislation, Chief Patron of Virginia's drunk driving reform laws, as well as initiatives to crack down on sexually violent predators.http://www.regent.edu/news_events/?article_id=182&view=full_article

From 2006 to 2009, as Virginia Attorney General, McDonnell won all nine cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia.http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1934361,00.html