Republicans, Democrats race
to fill
John Warner's Senate seat
The Democratic race for a presidential nominee may be drawing most of the headlines, but Virginia will play host to a critical U.S. Senate race in November as candidates battle to replace retiring Republican Sen. John Warner.
Former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner is set to run against either former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore or Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Prince William). The two Republican candidates will square off at a statewide convention in Richmond next month, and the convention's delegates will select the candidate who will face Warner.
Rockbridge Area Republican Committee Chairman Bob James and other local delegates will head to Richmond in late May to help make that decision.
"We get 35 delegates to [state] convention," James said. "[The convention] will also select delegates to the national convention, the new state chairman of the party and Virginia's Republican National Committee members."
The race is considered a crucial one by both parties. The GOP wants to retain its current seats after losing control of the Senate in 2006, while the Democratic Party is hoping to pick up five seats and bring its total number to 60. Most procedural measures in the Senate must pass with 60 votes, a rule that allows the minority party to thwart many bills it opposes.
John Warner, the retiring senator, is a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and has long been considered one of the most influential voices in the Republican caucus, as well as in the entire Senate.
If Gilmore, who is heavily favored over Marshall, emerges as his party's candidate, the campaign will pit the commonwealth's two most recent governors against each other. Gilmore was governor from 1997-2001, and Mark Warner held office until 2005, when current Gov. Tim Kaine was elected.
Gilmore's campaign has accused Mark Warner of being an inconsistent candidate who changes his positions based on his audience. Gilmore spokeswoman Ana Gamanol also said Warner raised taxes in office after promising not to do so during the campaign.
Taxes are set by the General Assembly, not the governor. Mark Warner did, however, meet with leaders of the General Assembly during the debates over increasing taxes.
In response, Mark Warner spokesman Kevin Hall said that taxes had to be increased because Gilmore's fiscal policies had left the state in a "fiscal ditch."
"After a year of very painful budget cuts and then a second year of implementing some pretty smart money-saving reforms, the commonwealth was not in a position to meet its commitments and keep its promises, many of them made by previous governors," Hall said.
Marshall has long been known as a hard-working conservative legislator. He is well-known in Virginia political circles for introducing a lengthy list of bills at each General Assembly session.
Marshall, who did not return calls requesting comment, was a leading opponent of last year's massive transportation plan, parts of which the Virginia Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional Feb. 29. The court ruled that the newly created regional transportation authorities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads should not be allowed to levy taxes because the authority members were appointed rather than elected.
On his campaign Web site, Marshall said he wants to work to bring more federal transportation funding into Virginia to help the state repair and expand its congested road network.
While Marshall worries about the roads, Gilmore touts his military experience.
"One Virginia voter in four is in the military, retired from the military or has a relative who works in the military," said Gamanol.
Gilmore also says that, if nominated, he looks forward to campaigning with Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee.
Warner is taking a different approach, promising to chart a bipartisan strategy if he's elected. Hall said Warner wants to form a coalition of senators from both parties.
"As Gov. Warner put it, ‘There aren't Republican or Democratic solutions, and neither party has a monopoly on good ideas,'" Hall said.
Whether the Republican nominee is Gilmore or Marshall, the Rockbridge County Democratic and Republican organizations are gearing up for a busy campaign season. As always, the area's biggest event will be the annual political parade and rally in Buena Vista on Labor Day.
"We do the Buena Vista breakfast at the high school, and the governor and all of the [candidates] who are Democrats usually attend that breakfast. Then [they] go over to the park after the parade and speak," said Pat Knick, a member of the Buena Vista Democratic Committee. "They speak at the breakfast too, but that's like preaching to the choir."
Knick and other area Democrats are also preparing fundraisers for Warner's campaign and hoping they can convince the candidate to make a visit later this spring, possibly with Bath County Sen. Creigh Deeds, who represents Buena Vista in the Virginia Senate and is running for governor in the 2009 election.
James said his organization is waiting to see who wins the GOP nomination for the Senate seat before it confirms any plans.
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Senator John Warner |
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| Mark Warner (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson) |
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| Jim Gilmore (AP Photo/Steve Helber) |
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| Bob Marshall (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bob Brown) |
Produced by
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journalism students.
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Richardson
Prof. Phylissa
Mitchell
Editing supervisor:
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Technical supervisor: Michael Todd