THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

And while it only involves one state, it is an important swing state and it does involve at least two rising Republican/Teabagger stars. And those two rising stars are the top Republican/Teabaggers in Virginia, Gov. Bob "Vaginal Wand" McDonnell and Attorney General Ken "The Cooch" Cuccinelli.

In the opening act, Virginians were introduced to Todd Schneider, the former personal chef to the governor and his family, who kept a stash of the first lady’s favorite crab-seasoned popcorn in the kitchen of the Executive Mansion.

Mr. Schneider, 52, told law enforcement agents last year that a $15,000 catering bill for the wedding of the McDonnells’ middle daughter, a menu that included bruschetta with local tomatoes and Virginia wines, was footed by a political donor.

Although state law requires elected officials to report gifts, Mr. McDonnell did not declare the $15,000, later explaining that it was exempt because it was a gift to his daughter.

Mr. Schneider, who calls himself a whistle-blower in court filings, showed investigators the catering contract signed by Mr. McDonnell, an invoice noting that he put down a deposit and a $15,000 check from the political patron who ultimately bought the food.

That donor, a serial entrepreneur named Jonnie R. Williams Sr., has given more than $120,000 to Mr. McDonnell’s campaigns, including nearly $80,000 in corporate jet travel, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks money in politics.

The McDonnells have returned the attention. Three days before the wedding of their daughter Cailin in June 2011, Maureen McDonnell, the first lady, flew to Florida on Mr. Williams’s plane to promote a dietary supplement sold by Mr. Williams. She “wowed” investors, one wrote, at a meeting to discuss the supplement, Anatabloc, which is said to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Later that summer, Ms. McDonnell gave a luncheon at the Executive Mansion, a stately Federalist home in pale yellow brick, to officially introduce Anatabloc the week it appeared in stores, speaking to a group of local health care providers.

If it walks like a quid pro quo and it quacks like a quid pro quo...

Another friend of Mr. Williams’s is Virginia’s attorney general, Mr. Cuccinelli. Mr. Cuccinelli has reported $18,000 in gifts from Mr. Williams, including regular vacations at a house on Smith Mountain Lake, near Roanoke, and a catered $1,500 Thanksgiving dinner. He also received a box of Anatabloc.

Mr. Cuccinelli, 44, bought stock in Star Scientific, which at one time was worth more than $20,000, although he failed to disclose his holding as required by law for nearly a year. Last October, he filed an updated statement of economic interest to include the stock, his only substantial investment.

The Cuccinelli campaign declined to answer questions about Mr. Williams and Star Scientific. Chris LaCivita, a strategist for the campaign, has said Mr. Cuccinelli did not realize his stock’s value had passed $10,000, the threshold for reporting. Once he did, he corrected the record. He has since sold all of his shares, his campaign has said, the last in mid-April.

While the two men were cementing their friendship after Mr. Cuccinelli’s election in 2009, Star Scientific sued Virginia over a $700,000 tax bill. Mr. Cuccinelli, whose office represents the state, resisted pressure from Democrats to recuse himself once the Star Scientific saga made it into the news. Last month, he agreed to appoint an outside counsel in what a spokesman called “an abundance of caution.”

An abundance of caution brought on by an abundance of scrutiny. The Richmond media is running with this story so it could get good.