Well, this has saved Tom Davis an awful lot of work and traveling. So much for the fun scramble over his Congressional seat.

Who would be crazy enough to actually pull the trigger and run against Mark Warner?

Personally, I’m rooting for Allen Keyes to step up to the plate.

Posted by Jack on 13 September 02007 @ 12pm

Hopefully, Davis will pin his hopes on having more of a NOVA foothold than most Republicans and go for it anyway. I just hope it’s more than Gilmore running. A multi-million dollar bloodthirsty primary battle is entertainment at its best.

Posted by Dan Kachur on 13 September 02007 @ 12pm

The Pat Buchanan rumor is pretty unbelievable, but it would certainly make things interesting (while unfortunately bringing more embarrassment to Virginia).

Posted by KCinDC on 13 September 02007 @ 1pm

Dan,

Rassmussen polled the race yesterday and found Mark Warner leading Tom Davis 57-30. He’d have to be a complete idiot to give up his seat in Congress for something that hopeless.

Today Tom Davis is looking at those poll numbers, looking at Warner’s current $9M federal campaign war chest compared to his own relatively paltry $1M and Davis is shaking his head. If Mark Warner had decided to run for Governor then this Senate seat would have been worth the risk and trouble to Davis. But not now. I would bet money that Tom Davis will stay in the House.

I have a blog entry examining this very question today if anyone cares.

Posted by Jack on 13 September 02007 @ 2pm

Jack, I’m not sure how meaningful the poll is when most people outside NoVa have never heard of Tom Davis at this point. I do think he’s having serious second thoughts, though.

Posted by KCinDC on 13 September 02007 @ 3pm

I’m not sure how meaningful the poll is when most people outside NoVa have never heard of Tom Davis at this point.

Though the fact that most people have never heard of Davis is, itself, a strike against him.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 13 September 02007 @ 4pm

KCinDC,

It doesn’t really matter much. At 57% without having even started to campaign, Warner polls better than most incumbents whom nobody will seriously challenge.

The Rassmussen report also polled favorables. Check it out:

Mark Warner – 68/28/4 (favorable/unfavorable/no opinion)
Jim Gilmore – 49/42/9
Tom Davis – 43/35/22

You just cannot successfully pick a fight with a guy who has a 68% favorable rating. Davis would be spending himself silly just trying to get his name out there while Mark Warner will already look like an incumbent by the end of February.

Posted by Jack on 13 September 02007 @ 5pm

Tom Davis – 43/35/22

That’s 22% of Virginia that doesn’t know what a right-wing extremist Tom “90% Bush” Davis is.

Lots of fun ahead in 2008, no matter what Davis does.

Posted by Josh on 13 September 02007 @ 5pm