Former Gov. Jim Gilmore must be smiling at the news:
Republican leaders gave former Gov. Jim Gilmore a boost today by choosing to hold a convention to nominate the party’s candidate to run for the U.S. Senate next year.The party’s state central committee voted 47 to 37 to hold a convention rather than a primary.
Gilmore, the more conservative choice, is seen as having an edge among the party’s inner circle over the more moderate Rep. Tom Davis. However, his personal appeal in the state is severely weakened by his embarrassing record as Governor. Did the Republicans just hand Mark Warner a Senate seat on a silver platter?
What’s more, the prospect of a convention could cause Davis to walk away from the Senate contest altogether:
There was speculation that Davis, now, would not seek the nomination, leaving the field to Gilmore. A Davis spokesman said he would announce his intentions after the Nov. 6 General Assembly elections.
A non-candidacy by Davis would make picking up his House seat, which is trending in favor of Democrats in federal races, a much more difficult task.
Republican reaction can be found here.
i was hopping davis be the nomiee so we could take his seat.
he doesn’t need to be the nominee in order to run for his seat as long as he participates in the primary we can get a big name in the race before he can focus on it.
So that they won’t be handing over a Senate seat and a House Seat?
But still, considering that Gilmore has similar name recognition to Warner and was still down 30% in the poll a few posts down, it’s seems baffling that they’d shun Davis like this, considering that at least he can still grow in the south. The NRSC must be fuming.