Virginia Congressman Tom Davis announced today that he will retire from Congress at the end of the year:
U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said today he will retire from Congress at the end of the year, bringing to a close a 14-year stint in the House of Representatives during which he rose rapidly through the ranks of Republican leadership and championed such issues as D.C. voting rights and a vibrant defense-contracting industry.
“It’s time for me to take a sabbatical,” Davis said. “I would say I’m not ruling out future public service, but it’s time to be refreshed, to see what it’s like in the private sector. That doesn’t mean I will or won’t come back.”
(…)
Davis is steadfast in his belief that his own moderate politics, focused more on economic growth and less on divisive social issues, is the right direction for the state GOP. He has suggested that the steady lean toward Democratic candidates of his own district, which encompasses such Fairfax County communities as Vienna, Oakton and Annandale as well as a sliver of Prince William County, shows that hard-core conservatism doesn’t work anymore on statewide ballots, he said.
But Davis didn’t count on the vehemence with which the GOP’s conservative wing would resist his efforts to move the party to the middle. His opt-out of a Senate bid was spurred in part by an ugly battle within the Republican Party of Virginia, which decided to have a convention instead of a primary to choose its nominee. The decision favored former governor James S. Gilmore III, a more conservative candidate viewed as likelier to win over the party faithful who typically attend conventions.
“I’m not at all bitter,” Davis said. “I’m just disappointed. We have such an opportunity to put together a coalition that’s good for Virginia. Instead of opening up the party to people who agree with them on many issues, they’ve decided to have an admissions test [on abortion and taxes]. And that’s not a winning formula for them or for Virginia.”
As much as I don’t like some of the things Davis has done over the years — most notably his advocacy of last year’s bill to give the District of Columbia a vote in Congress and his support of legislation that gives D.C. students in-state tuition anywhere in the country — it’s hard to argue with his position. At least as far as Northern Virginia is concerned, it’s getting harder and harder for hard-line conservatives and the rise of politicians such as Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, and Jim Webb has been hard for the state GOP to counter. Moreover, there is a real possibility that Virginia will end up in the Democratic column in November for the first time since 1964.
Now it’s time to see which Republicans line up for what is going to be an incredibly tough effort to keep Davis’s seat.
