Bob McDonnell says he’ll take pay cut if elected

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Bob McDonnell says if he’s elected governor, he’ll cut his own pay, a nod to the tough fiscal times the state is in.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the Republican former attorney general said he’d reduce his own salary as part of budget tightening.

Gov. Tim Kaine, whom he hopes to succeed, cut his pay by 5 percent when the economy and the state’s revenues began to slide.

His predecessor, Mark Warner, also took a cut during the economic downturn that ravaged the state budget seven years ago.

Warner and Kaine are both Democrats.

McDonnell also insisted in an hourlong discussion with AP reporters and editors that a $100 billion highway construction backlog can be addressed without new taxes.