RICHMOND, VA (WTVR) -- The choice for who the Republican Party of Virginia will officially nominate for governor at their convention Saturday is clear: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
While no one is running against Cuccinelli for the Republican nomination, there is plenty of competition for the Lt. Governor and Attorney General offices.
Seven Republican candidates are running for LG and two are running for Attorney General.
The seven LG candidates are: Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, E.W. Jackson, Scott Lingamfelter, Steve Martin, Pete Snyder, Corey Stewart, and Susan Stimpson.
The two AG candidates are Rob Bell and Mark Obenshain.
Garren Shipley, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Virginia, says both races are toss ups and it is unclear who are the frontrunners.
"It is completely unknown at this point. Even us folks at the RPV have been trying to figure out which way the winds are blowing and we can't," Shipley told CBS 6 political reporter Joe St. George.
The candidates for LG and Attorney General will be voted on by an estimated 13,000 delegates who will be inside the Richmond Coliseum.
The winner must receive 50 percent plus one to be called the nominee.
For the LG offices, a maximum of four ballots will take place.
After each ballot, the bottom two candidates will drop off.
While the LG ballot is expected to last to take four ballots, the AG race is expected to be decided after one ballot.
Bell is currently a State Delegate while Obenshain is a State Senator.
Both have legal experience with Bell serving as a former prosecutor and Obenshain serving as a constitutional lawyer for over 20 years.
So why a convention and not a primary election like what the Democratic party will hold on June 11?
Polliticos say it is because Republican insiders did not want a battle for the GOP nomination to take place between Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Lt. Governor Bill Bolling.
Candidates however argue this method is the most affective and the most cost-efficient for taxpayers.
Perhaps as a sign of this being a new era in Republican politics, Governor Bob McDonnell will not be speaking at the convention.
