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W&L Alums Throw Hats in AG Rings

At the same time that Washington and Lee alumnus Dave Freed, of the Class of 1992, has announced his candidacy for attorney general of Pennsylvania, another W&L alumnus, Mark Obenshain, a 1987 graduate of the School of Law, is considering a run for the same office in Virginia.

Dave, who has spent 14 of his 17 years as a prosecutor, has served since 2006 as Cumberland County district attorney. A Republican, he made his announcement Wednesday at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Carlisle, Pa., and said he would drop out of the race if another candidate wins the Republican State Committee’s endorsement in January.

He has been in the district attorney’s office in Cumberland County since 1998 and was the youngest district attorney of a fourth-class county in Pennsylvania when he was elected in 2006. He has received endorsements from 20 fellow Pennsylvania DAs. Dave’s campaign website is here.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, the commonwealth’s current attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, just announced his intention to run for governor in 2013. That news was followed quickly by stories that Mark Obenshain may mount a campaign for that post.

A Republican, Mark has been a state senator since 2003. He is a founder of the law firm Lenhart Obenshain, P.C., in Harrisonburg, where he has practiced for the past 23 years. Until Cuccinelli’s announcement, speculation had been that Mark was considering a run at lieutenant governor in the next cycle. Mark’s website, which he calls exploratory, is here.

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