So reports Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post:
Rep. Tom Davis is expected to announce later this week that he will not run for the Senate seat being vacated by John Warner (R) in 2008, according to several informed GOP sources with Virginia ties.
Davis, who was widely expected to seek the open Senate seat, has been hinting for the better part of a week that he has changed his mind. He could make his decision not to run official as soon as Thursday, according to the sources, who refused to be quoted on the record because they were not authorized to talk to the media on Davis’s behalf.
The Virginia Republican Party’s recent decision to select its Senate nominee via a convention instead of a primary election was likely a major factor in Davis’s decision to take a pass on the race. The convention would likely be dominated by the more conservative members of the party, making it harder for the more moderate Davis to win the nomination.
Not too much of a surprise given the Virginia GOP’s decision to go with a convention, and Davis’s own statement to the National Press Club last week hinting at a run against Jim Webb in 2012 rather than going after the open seat in 2008.
As Cillizza states, this leaves the Republican nomination wide open for Jim Gilmore. Although given recent polls, I’m not sure that’s such a great deal for Gilmore.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:11 am
[...] Yesterday, there were reports that Tom Davis had decided against running for John Warner’s open Senate seat in 2008. [...]