Jerry W. Kilgore, a former Virginia Attorney General, today endorsed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for president.

Kilgore had been the Virginia state chairman for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the presidential campaign Wednesday and endorsed McCain.

"John McCain understands that a president's first obligation is the security of the American people," said Kilgore, who served as Virginia's attorney general from 2002 to 2006. Kilgore said McCain has "the guts, wisdom, and integrity to lead our country in the midst of great challenges."

Kilgore will join Sen. John W. Warner, R-Virginia, and Del. Christopher B. Saxman, R-Staunton, in serving as a state co-chairman for the McCain campaign in Virginia.

Endorsements are picking up in Virginia ahead of the state's Feb. 12 presidential primary. Different groups of state legislators today are expected to announce endorsements of McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois.