Eric Cantor, House Chief Deputy Minority Whip, has been asked to provide “personal documents” to John McCain steps up his search for a running mate.

John McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said the campaign would have “no comment on anything related to the vice presidential issue.”

Virginia Rep Eric Cantor, 45, has been a forceful critic of Democrat Barack Obama’s resistance to lifting the federal ban on oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Eric Cantor not only provides youth to the ticket but also provide John McCain with an important asset in Virginia, a state that last backed a Democrat for president in 1964 but which both parties are now targeting as a battleground.

If John McCain wins, Eric Cantor would become the first Jewish vice president.

Among others believed to be getting close looks from McCain: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Ohio Rep. Rob Portman for McCain.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Virginia Lottery, a state-run lottery in the Commonwealth of Virginia, spokesman John Hagerty said Martz, 56, opted to receive $346,000 a year for 26 years. He said the remaining money will go to Martz’s beneficiary.

Dana C. Martz, a Rockingham County man who won $9 million in the lottery in 2001, died after his truck crashed into a tree on 7th May 2008.

Official website of Virginia Lottery: http://www.valottery.com

Popularity: 2% [?]