This is good news for Democrats. Warner, former governor of the state, had a 73% approval rating in Virginia in a poll conducted last October. At this point, it looks like he won’t face any serious opposition for the Democratic nomination.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee immediately and predictably attacked Warner, but the two Republicans who’ve announced their intentions to run look to be in for a bruising nomination battle — one that starts with a choice between a primary and a convention. Rep. Tom Davis, the more moderate of the two, wants a primary, while former Gov. Jim Gilmore (who had a very brief run for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination) wants a convention, which tends to favor the more conservative candidate.
Their supporters have already started in with the sniping:
Morton C. Blackwell, a Virginia Republican National Committee member who supports Gilmore, said Davis is “is not a good fit for the conservative Republicans in Virginia.”
David Avella, a Northern Virginia GOP activist who supports Davis, countered, “I will say an embarrassing presidential campaign that ended in debt is not the traditional path to getting to the U.S. Senate.”
Keep up the good work, guys. Intramural warfare could be the best way to guarantee that the Dems pick up a seat.