Gov. Bob McDonnell, a surrogate for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and chairman of the Republican Governors Association, will attend the next presidential debate on Tuesday evening at Hofstra University in New York.
That trip comes at the beginning of a week that will take McDonnell to five states for political business, according to a schedule released Monday by his political operation.
On Thursday evening he will attend a fundraiser in Raleigh for Pat McCrory, a gubernatorial candidate in North Carolina.
The next morning McDonnell will be in Billings, Montana for a RGA breakfast, followed by a fundraiser for Rick Hill, who is running for governor in Montana, and an event for Rob McKenna, a candidate for governor in Washington.
McDonnell has a Friday afternoon RGA roundtable in Federal Way, Washington and then, according to his schedule, he heads to a RGA retreat in Napa, California, through Sunday.
Asked about the travel schedule, McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said “This is part of his role as serving as RGA chairman.”
The governor assumed the top RGA post in August 2011 when his predecessor, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, decided to run for president. McDonnell’s term as chairman ends next month.
“We have competitive races all over the country,” Martin said. “It was always anticipated that the end of October would be busy for people on both sides.”
“I think a lot of governors, senators and congressmen will be passing each other in airports all around the country in weeks ahead.”
