Northern Virginia Republican Rep. Tom Davis will seek to succeed retiring U.S. Senator John Warner next year, a congressional source close to the seven-term congressman told The Examiner on Friday.
“Tom’s running,” the source said. “He didn’t want to say more today because it’s the senator’s day. He’s also very involved in the upcoming General Assembly elections and doesn’t want to distract from the party’s efforts on that front.”
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Davis, whose wife is a state senator running for re-election, did not publicly address his future Friday.
He has been quietly preparing for a Senate race for more than a year by raising money, visiting other parts of the state and purchasing Web site domains.
The fight for the Republican Senate nomination could incite a political civil war between the GOP’s moderate and conservative wings – a split that could largely break along geographic lines.
avis would enjoy immense support from centrists in Northern Virginia, but more conservative Republicans in the southern and western portions of the state could back former Gov. Jim Gilmore or Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.
“As we look ahead to 2008, we will have some big shoes to fill and much work to do ,” Bolling said in a statement. “I am committed to doing everything I can to make certain that we elect a conservative candidate to represent the people of Virginia in the United States Senate.”
Former Gov. Mark Warner, who ran against John Warner in 1996 and later bonded with the senator, remained mum about his plans Friday. Mark Warner, who lives in Alexandria, was popular with voters when he left the Executive Mansion in 2006. He has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate next year and could also run for governor again in 2009.
“I know it is unusual for two peoplewho ran against each other to become friends after the election, but John and I did,” Mark Warner said.
The Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate thanks to Jim Webb’s narrow win in Virginia last year, and the open seat is likely to be a key electoral battleground as the parties fight again for control next year. Not wasting any time, the Virginia Democratic Party sent out a news release Friday afternoon titled “Tom Davis Is No John Warner.”
The release criticized Davis for voting against the minimum wage, which John Warner supported.
The party said it plans to highlight differences between Gilmore and John Warner next week.
