I don’t have a lot of details, but I just found out that State Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City) will not be running statewide in 2013. Apparently, he told his Senate colleagues of his decision on Monday. I also understand that Chap had actually started the process to run statewide in 2013, had been lining up donors (including, from what I hear, some heavy hitters). Then, suddenly (and sadly), Chap’s dad passed away, and understandably Chap lost interest in a statewide run for office in 2013 (including everything he’d have to do in 2012, aka “now,” to run and win).
Anyway, it would now appear that Terry McAuliffe is the de facto Democratic nominee for governor in 2013, barring a move by Senator Mark Warner to throw his own hat in the ring. That, obviously, would “clear the field,” but I’m actually hearing that’s not likely to happen either.
UPDATE: Julian Walker reports Chap saying “I thought hard about running for governor in 2013, but at this point I don’t plan on going forward.” Walker also quotes Sen. Warner spokesman Kevin Hall that “we’re not thinking about 2013” but instead are “focused on a pretty big election this fall, and the fiscal storm coming at the end of this year when the Bush tax cuts and the payroll tax holiday expire and automatic budget cuts take effect — all at the same time.”
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