Today, former governor Jim Gilmore officially announced his entry in the 2008 race for Virginia’s open Senate seat:
RICHMOND, Nov. 19 — Former governor James S. Gilmore III announced Monday morning he will be a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate next year.
In an e-mailed announcement, Gilmore declared, “The race is on.”
Gilmore, who leans right on taxes and social issues, was widely expected to run for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. John W. Warner (R), one of the Senate’s best-known moderates. Gilmore becomes the first GOP candidate to enter the race.
If he secures the nomination, he will likely face Democrat Mark R. Warner, who succeeded him as governor in a state that has teetered in recent national elections between red and blue.
“I’m running for the United States Senate from Virginia because I want to be one of those leaders who call on the spirit that is common in all of us and use it to restore our country for the benefit of our people and in the eyes of the world,” Gilmore, 58, said in an announcement video.
Gilmore was governor from 1998 to 2002 and served before that as Virginia’s attorney general. He briefly campaigned to become the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, but he failed to gather significant traction and dropped out in July.
As governor, he was known for trying to eliminate Virginia’s car tax and toughening standards for public schools.
Gilmore is expected to benefit from the Republican State Central Committee’s recent decision to hold a convention instead of a primary to choose the party’s Senate nominee in the spring.
And, outside of some last minute efforts to draft someone like Peter Pace or Ted Olsen, he’s likely to face only token opposition/
Here’s the announcement video that was posted on YouTube:
Given the choice between Gilmore and Mark Warner, the choice is obviously, for me at least, Gilmore, but it looks like 2008 is going to be another uphill fight for the Virginia GOP.
