Warner to retire
Virginia Sen. John Warner (R) said Friday that he will not seek reelection.
Warner, 80, long a Capitol Hill power as a result of his post as chairman of the Armed Services committee when Republicans controlled the Senate, said of his five terms: "I have done my best" and closed with a quote from Thomas Jefferson on the historic campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He said he'd made the decision in the "last day or two" and had wanted to first make one final trip to Iraq.
Warner said his age had been a factor in his decision. "You got to face that I"m now 80," Warner said. "I would be near 88 when I finish (a sixth term) . . . I want to be fair to this wonderful state."
This is very interesting. Virginia is what could be considered a Purple state. A long time of voting solidly Republican, but over the past five years, has elected Democrats in major offices, including Governor and the election of Jim Webb as Senator in 2006.
With Warner's retirement, the race will be on - who will run? Not only from the Democrat's side, but also, from the GOP side. Will recently defeated George Allen run again? Remember, there was the Bob Novak column about the DLC wanting Hillary to choose the former Governor Warner as her running mate, but now with the Senate Seat open will he go for that?
This could become a major political soap opera in 2008.
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