This gets interesting at around 11:38 of the video. According to Professor Sabato, “believe it or not there does appear to be some substance to [the rumor that Mark Warner might run for governor in 2013].” Why? Three good reasons: 1) “what sane person wouldn’t be [frustrated with the U.S. Senate]”; 2) he enjoyed the governorship “a great deal”; 3) the governorship is a better platform to run for president than the U.S. Senate.
Also intriguing, if Warner runs and wins (which I assume he would), he gets to appoint his own successor to the U.S. Senate. As Professor Sabato says, “it’s not a bad deal at all if Senator Warner decides to go for it.” Nope, and it wouldn’t be a bad deal for Virginia, as a Warner candidacy would almost guarantee that we wouldn’t have to suffer through the horrors of Governor Kookinelli (not to mention LG Corey Stewart and AG Mark Obenshain for 4 years, plus a Republican-controlled General Assembly). Shuddderrrrrr. Heck, the more I think about this, and as much as I’m a Terry McAuliffe fan, I’m tempted (mostly kidding here) to start a “Draft Mark Warner for Governor” movement. Anyone interested?
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
