So now Virginia Tea Party Patriots president Jaime Radtke is officially running for the GOP Senate nomination, giving what was largely a gaggle of re-runs a bit of life. That’s a good thing. But as the case with just about everything else in Virginia politics, her entry isn’t just about a fresh face injecting new life into a moribund field. It’s also about settling scores and gaining power.
My sources tell me Radtke’s candidacy has at least the tacit backing of two Republican heavyweights: former party chairman Pat McSweeney and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
Originally, the two were considering supporting Del. Bob Marshall. But actions like Marshall’s opposition to the repeal amendment – which both McSweeney and Cuccinelli support – convinced them to look elsewhere. George Allen, the establishment pick, was not an option. McSweeney and Allen have a history of disagreement running back to the time when then-Gov. Allen tried to have McSweeney removed as party chairman. As for Cuccinelli, his motives are guided more by his own political designs. He’s not keen on an Allen candidacy and, at least briefly, considered making his own run against Webb. Now it’s more likely he might consider a challenge to Mark Warner in 2014.
What’s the rationale for a Radtke run? Her original plans were to challenge Republican state Senator John Watkins. But Radtke was told by old political hands that she wouldn’t have the support of the business community, which, for whatever reason, believes in Watkins.
So she sets her eyes on the U.S. Senate, instead. Before she officially declared her candidacy, I asked her what her concerns were. Chief among them was raising enough money to make a race of it – the same problem she would have faced running against Watkins for state Senate.
There’s plenty of time for her to raise the money she will need and certainly, she may be able to find an issue that captures the public imagination, thus making money a bit less of a problem.
But having two prominent GOP warhorses in her corner may be her biggest asset. And it will also be a test for Cuccinelli. If, in backing Radtke, Cuccinelli can help take out Allen, his path to dominance over the Virginia Republican Party will be clear, and his plans for 2014 and beyond will become that much clearer.
