Corey Stewart Done With Politics In Prince William: Updated

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA—Corey Stewart, whose bombastic style of politicking predated the fellow who took it to new levels and now sits in the Oval Office, says he's leaving politics and will not run for a fourth term as chairman of the Prince William County board of supervisors. The man who has said he was "Trump before Trump was Trump," and lost by a landslide against former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine in last year's U.S. Senate race, told the Washington Post he wants to devote more attention to his law practice.

Stewart's hard-line stances on illegal immigration were one of the reasons he nearly beat Ed Gillespie in the GOP race for Virginia governor, but didn't serve him nearly as well against Kaine. He told the Post he wouldn't consider re-entering state politics "until and unless the Commonwealth is ready for my view on things, and that's not right now, clearly."

Stewart made national headlines more than a decade ago for his county crackdown on undocumented immigrants, but his behind-the-scenes work as county supervisor included helping along a $300 million transportation bond and, according to the Post, persuading developers to share in the cost of dozens of new athletic fields.

But there's also a lot of necessary budget minutia that "just isn't exciting for me anymore," he said. Stewart has been on the Board of County Supervisors for 15 years. Three candidates, according to the Post, already are set to vie for the chairmanship: Republican Supervisor Martin E. Nohe (Coles); Democrat Ann Wheeler; and Donald E. Scoggins, "a moderate Republican who is running as an independent."

Click here for a transcript of Stewart's remarks Tuesday afternoon in his State of the County address.

In this Oct. 2, 2018 file photo, Republican Corey Stewart gestures during a debate with U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine in Richmond, Va. Stewart who lost last year's U.S. Senate race to Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, says he's leaving politics "until and unless the Commonwealth is ready" for his views. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)