AT THE MOMENT, Democrat Mark Warner is favored to win. But it looks like former RNC chair Ed Gillespie is running. I’d recommend that you ignore most of the NYT’s slightly nervous well-poisoning there* and note this section:
Virginians who have recently spoken to Mr. Warner said he was consumed with the idea of a challenge from Mr. Gillespie. One longtime political hand in Richmond said Mr. Warner shifted a recent conversation to the topic of Mr. Gillespie “within about the first 15 seconds.”
That is the sound of a sitting Senator who has just realized that he may not be allowed to coast this cycle.
More from Hot Air. What I think that Jazz Shaw, myself, and others are thinking right now is not that Mark Warner is doomed; it’s that he’s vulnerable, thanks to Obamacare and what could very well be a Republican wave. As it stands, again, Warner is favored to win. But if he’s in Toss-Up territory by the time that the race heats up in the fall then Election Night is going to be a time of pain for the Democratic party. And having Gillespie (or any other candidate, sure) do well by then will help bring about the Time of Pain.
At any rate, the state GOP will decide at its convention. Which, as the NYT itself notes, Gillespie is quietly promising not to try to sabotage**.
Moe Lane
*This is usually the point where somebody says some variant of “Uggh.” Look, folks, I was all-in Cuccinelli myself – but I’ll tell you this right now: if a RiNO is what it takes to get the seat, well, let me go find some paper-mache for the horns. And I may not be the only guy out there in the ‘sphere who will have this opinion.
**There’s quite a bit about the VA GOP that I’d like to sabotage, frankly, but then: who asked me?
I seem to remember Gillespie as a team player and effective and competent as RNC head, so I don’t have major reservations. Last November seemed less of a lesson on the limits of Conservative purity and more of a lesson on not letting Primadonnas get into positions of power. Because, apparently, that whole “team player” thing only applies when the correct candidate wins the nomination.
We’ll get to see what happens in 2014. My guess is Cuccinelli ( now a private citizen) will stump for Gillespie and prove once and for all he was the better man then Bolling.
COunterpoint: apparently, that whole “will of the people” thing only applies when your candidate is confident the will rests with him. If not…well, hey, that’s what conventions are for.
I’m perfectly willing to let Gillespie run. and I’m 93% red meat conservative according to Time Magazine. Just as long as Gillespie and co. Don’t stop Cuccinelli from challenging Kaine in 2018.
I like your thinking on Gillespie, and I believe Cuccinelli will definitely prove that he was a better man than Bolling.