It’s been rumored for weeks that Tim Kaine would throw his hat into the Virginia U.S. Senatorial race after Jim Webb announced he would not run for reelection. The speculation has been hyped, discussed, teased, and apparently Kaine slipped and shared his plans recently with a class of students who in turn notified the press which again caused a swirl of speculation.
Today’s actual announcement, therefore, seemed a little anti-climatic to some while others were excited to hear the news that was released as a video message.
So the race is on. Kaine, the reluctant candidate, succumbed to the arm-twisting of the Democratic Party who considered him the best candidate to try and retain the seat for the “D” side of the aisle. Apparently, since he has been tapped by President Barack Obama himself, there is practically no chance of a Democratic primary which means the Republicans will fight it out amongst themselves to find the opponent to Kaine.
All GOP candidates will feel they are the best to go up against Kaine. In reality, talking heads across the nation have already swooned at the thought of two political titans from the Commonwealth going head-to-head if George Allen wins the Republican primary over his tea party opponent. After all, that would pit two former governors who were active in their parties at the national level — Allen as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Kaine as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Virginia would become a battleground state as one of the most-watched contests in the nation as Republicans work to regain a majority in the U.S. Senate.
All the foot-dragging on Kaine’s behalf allowed Republicans the opportunity to research and refresh their files with issues including broken “no tax” promises, loss of jobs, and the misguided decision to close rest areas after Kaine claimed lack of funds while $1.1 billion sat in VDOT coffers. Immediately after Kaine’s announcement, the Republican Party of Virginia posted reactions from GOP leaders and a research piece called “Kaine By the Number.”
There was also an immediate response from George Allen’s campaign:
Although the election is not until November 2012, both sides are lining up for an intense nineteen months of campaigning where money will be king, volunteers key, and the ability to turn out voters extremely important as Republicans battle to continue the gains they made in 2009 and 2010, and Democrats fight to save the seat they narrowly won in 2006.
