Democratic activist Ben Tribbett, who writes the blog Not Larry Sabato, tickled the Virginia political universe when he announced a possible run for the state Senate seat to be vacated by the retiring Mary Margaret Whipple, D-Arlington.
Except he’s not running.
“Having an opportunity to spend a few weeks considering a campaign of this magnitude is a huge honor and I’ve learned a lot during this process about our community and important issues that need to be addressed,” Tribbett wrote in an email. “There are hundreds of factors that go into a decision like this and I’d rather not outline my “pros and cons” in an email.”
He said in an interview that he’s been about 50/50, but that he wanted to announce a decision before tomorrow night’s Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting, at which Army Lt. Col. Jaime Areizaga-Soto is expected to officially announce his candidacy.
When Tribbett started talking about running, he said his business clients started getting calls from Senate leadership, which factored into his decision not to run. Due to other business, Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, was not available for comment, according to an aide.
Arlington County board member Barbara Favola has declared her candidacy on the Democratic side, and Northern Virginia businesswoman Caren Merrick is vying for the seat on the Republican side.
Merrick had originally been planning to challenge Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, before new redistricting plans drew Merrick into the 31st, which now stretches from Arlington all the way to Loudoun County.
