Appeals struck down Virginia's anti-sodomy law, finding it unconstitutional based on the Supreme Court's 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas". On June 25, 2013, Cuccinelli filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, but in October 2013 the Supreme Court denied Cuccinelli's appeal. On November 24, 2010, Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion that police, school administrators, and teachers could search students' cell phones on the basis of reasonable suspicions in order to deter cyberbullying and "sexting". The ACLU and the Rutherford Institute said that Cuccinelli's opinion was in error, lacking a legal foundation. Since 2007, his office negotiated settlements of almost $8 million representing refunds from eight auto-title lenders, filed a lawsuit against CNC Financial Services, Inc. for charging interest rates of 300 percent or more, and filed two separate against two Virginia Beach-based mortgage modification companies for charging customers up to $1,200 in illegal advance fees. He was involved in passing legislation targeting human trafficking. 2013 run for governor After his election as attorney general, it was speculated that Cuccinelli was a potential candidate for governor in the 2013 election or for the United States Senate in 2014. Cuccinelli himself stated that he was considering running for the Senate. Two days later, one of his aides said, "We haven't ruled out anything. He's not actively considering a run for any particular office at the moment. Ken is operating under the assumption that he will run for reelection [in 2013]. He hasn't ruled out any option besides running for president, which he has no desire to do." On November 30, 2011, The Washington Post reported that Cuccinelli would announce within days that he was running for governor in 2013; the next day, Cuccinelli confirmed that he would run. Cuccinelli said he would continue serving as Attorney General during his run. He is the first Attorney General since 1985 to remain in office while seeking the Governorship rather than resign the position while seeking the office, a precedent that the last six Attorneys General to run for Governor have adhered to. Cuccinelli lost to Terry McAuliffe on November 5, 2013, by 56,435 votes, or 2.5% of total ballots cast. The Libertarian Party candidate, Robert Sarvis, received 146,084 votes, or 6.5% of the vote total. After leaving office In the 2016 presidential election, Cuccinelli served as an advisor to Ted Cruz's campaign, leading the campaign's effort to win delegates for Cruz at