BREAKING NEWS! Warner announces he will retire
This has been rumored for a little while that Senator John Warner might retire. Today, he made it official:
Virginia Sen. John Warner (R) said Friday that he will not seek reelection.
Warner, 80, long a power in the Senate as a result of his post as chairman of the Armed Services committee, said of his five terms: "I have done my best" and closed with a quote from Thomas Jefferson on the historic campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He said he'd made the decision in the "last day or two" and had wanted to first make one final trip to Iraq.
Warner said his age had been a factor in his decision. "You got to face that I"m now 80," Warner said. "I would be near 88 when I finish (a sixth term) . . . I want to be fair to this wonderful state."
Warner's decision creates a crucial battleground in next year's struggle for control of the Senate. Traditionally a Republican stronghold, Virginia has shown signs of trending Democratic in recent years, including last fall's victory by Democrat James Webb over incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen.
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and former governor Jim Gilmore are expected to seek the GOP nomination, while former governor Mark Warner is viewed as a potential Democratic contender.
Warner said he had made no decision about who to back as a potential successor.
We have twenty-one reelection efforts in the Senate in 2008. The Democrats have twelve. With Warner leaving, Craig likely not to win reelection (if he stays), Allard already announcing his retirement, and the possibility of both Stevens and Hagel retiring, these would be five seats that a new challenger would have to defend. Time to start digging for good conservatives to hold onto these seats. The last thing we need is to take even further steps backwards in the next election.
The White House is the key to 2008, but the Congressional elections are no less important. The Democrats are vulnerable as they have frittered away their good graces with the voting public. A paltry 18% approval rating for Congress is nothing to crow about, and the Democrats don't seem to be fazed by it. (That's why they keep digging deeper.) As they continue to dig, we should be looking to move up. But the only seat right now amongst those five that is a toss-up is Allard's. the rest are likely to stay in our column according to election prognosticators, but that doesn't make them any less competitive. Nor does it make it any easier when it comes to choosing a successor.
For Warner's soon-to-be-vacant seat, Jim Gilmore would be the likeliest candidate. He was a popular governor in Virginia, and he governed by conservative principles. His presidential campaign died due to lack of funds, lack of recognition, and below average-to-average debate performances. But he is well-known in Virginia, and could likely defeat any Democrat challengers.
Publius II
Virginia Sen. John Warner (R) said Friday that he will not seek reelection.
Warner, 80, long a power in the Senate as a result of his post as chairman of the Armed Services committee, said of his five terms: "I have done my best" and closed with a quote from Thomas Jefferson on the historic campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He said he'd made the decision in the "last day or two" and had wanted to first make one final trip to Iraq.
Warner said his age had been a factor in his decision. "You got to face that I"m now 80," Warner said. "I would be near 88 when I finish (a sixth term) . . . I want to be fair to this wonderful state."
Warner's decision creates a crucial battleground in next year's struggle for control of the Senate. Traditionally a Republican stronghold, Virginia has shown signs of trending Democratic in recent years, including last fall's victory by Democrat James Webb over incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen.
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and former governor Jim Gilmore are expected to seek the GOP nomination, while former governor Mark Warner is viewed as a potential Democratic contender.
Warner said he had made no decision about who to back as a potential successor.
We have twenty-one reelection efforts in the Senate in 2008. The Democrats have twelve. With Warner leaving, Craig likely not to win reelection (if he stays), Allard already announcing his retirement, and the possibility of both Stevens and Hagel retiring, these would be five seats that a new challenger would have to defend. Time to start digging for good conservatives to hold onto these seats. The last thing we need is to take even further steps backwards in the next election.
The White House is the key to 2008, but the Congressional elections are no less important. The Democrats are vulnerable as they have frittered away their good graces with the voting public. A paltry 18% approval rating for Congress is nothing to crow about, and the Democrats don't seem to be fazed by it. (That's why they keep digging deeper.) As they continue to dig, we should be looking to move up. But the only seat right now amongst those five that is a toss-up is Allard's. the rest are likely to stay in our column according to election prognosticators, but that doesn't make them any less competitive. Nor does it make it any easier when it comes to choosing a successor.
For Warner's soon-to-be-vacant seat, Jim Gilmore would be the likeliest candidate. He was a popular governor in Virginia, and he governed by conservative principles. His presidential campaign died due to lack of funds, lack of recognition, and below average-to-average debate performances. But he is well-known in Virginia, and could likely defeat any Democrat challengers.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 3:54 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home