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Virginia’s 2008 Senate Riddle: Two Warners, One Warner or No Warner
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Race
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| Contributor | The Sunset Provision |
| Last Edited | The Sunset Provision Feb 09, 2007 12:50pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - New York Times |
| News Date | Friday, February 9, 2007 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Virginia’s Democratic Party, like its counterpart in most other Southern states, had been losing ground for years as this decade began. But the once-dominant state party hit a low point in 2002, when it failed to field a challenger to Republican Sen. John W. Warner.
Running for the second time without a Democratic opponent — the first time was in 1990 — Warner piled up 83 percent of the vote to defeat two little-known independent candidates.
Yet as Warner’s seat comes up for election in 2008, just six years later, Democrats are eagerly assessing their chances for a takeover. They almost certainly would go all out if Warner, who turns 80 on Feb. 18, were to retire. And the five-term senator is unlikely to enjoy an effortless victory this time if he does run, which he has indicated he is leaning toward doing.
The Democrats are trying to build on recent successes by their statewide nominees, such as Tim Kaine’s victory in the 2005 governor’s race and Jim Webb’s dramatic come-from-behind 2006 victory over Republican Sen. George Allen, which clinched the Democrats’ takeover of Senate control.
As they try to maintain their momentum into 2008, there is one question Democratic activists keep asking out loud: What will Mark Warner do?
Kaine’s popular predecessor in Virginia’s one-term governorship, Democrat Warner (no relation to the senator) last year tested the waters for a possible 2008 presidential bid but demurred.
Though he has not given any indication that he might run for the Senate next year, the wealthy former telecommunications industry executive — who in his 1996 political debut gave John Warner the stiffest challenge he has faced in a re-election contest — remains the dream candidate for his home state’s Democrats.
This has led to the current conundrum of Virginia politics: Were Mark Warner to jump into the Senate race, would John Warner retire to avoid a grueling campaign? On the other hand, if the incumbent senato |
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