Kilgore champions rural roots

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Jerry W. Kilgore often evokes his hometown of Gate City while campaigning to be Virginia's next governor.

The small town in Southwest Virginia is filled with good people with good values, and he and twin brother Terry grew up on a tobacco and cattle farm and learned about the benefit of hard work, he says.

"Growing up in Gate City, some things mattered a lot, and others didn't matter much at all," Mr. Kilgore says in a biographical video explaining his rural roots. "Responsibility mattered, hard work mattered, family and faith mattered."

It's those values the Republican professes as he touts a reform agenda on the campaign trail.

Mr. Kilgore was the first in his family to go to college. After law school, he served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney for Scott County, Va., and as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

In 1994, then-Gov. George Allen, a Republican, tapped Mr. Kilgore, then 32, to be his secretary of public safety. Mr. Kilgore worked with Mr. Allen when the Allen administration abolished parole. Mr. Kilgore managed 11 state agencies, including the Virginia State Police and the Department of Corrections.

Mr. Allen, now a U.S. senator, is one of Mr. Kilgore's biggest cheerleaders, saying his former Cabinet member would be the best leader for Virginia.

"Some people said, 'Oh, gosh, he's so young,' but I just thought Jerry is a good commonsense person with the right experience, a lot of experience for somebody his age," Mr. Allen said.

Mr. Kilgore, now 44, said he has deep admiration for Mr. Allen. "So much of my governing has been molded by George Allen, his philosophy that government can help when it can, but most of the time, it just needs to get out of the way," he said.

Sen. John W. Warner, Virginia Republican, also supports Mr. Kilgore, who with brother Terry volunteered to help on Mr. Warner's first campaign in 1978.