who, besides me, doesn't think the perfect candidate would be Bob McDonnell?
The thinking has been that a primary would come down to Jim Gilmore and Tom Davis (and I would support Davis, btw). But each would have contrasting problems--Davis downstate with the rural, more religious voters; Gilmore upstate with the more centrist NOVAns.
Bob McDonnell strikes me as the perfect blend of these two. More conservative than Davis, McDonnell also lacks the partisan edge that Gilmore has that could drive voters away. As a long-time member of the House of Delegates, McDonnell surely knows how the inertia of the legislative process works.
More than likely, Mark Warner will pass on this race to run for governor. That leaves either Tim Kaine or Creigh Deeds, and Kaine won't leave the state in the hands of Bill Bolling. That could leave us with a McDonnell-Deeds rematch for a US Senate seat. McDonnell has accomplished a lot in the AG post--tough child predator laws for starters. He has a strong resume, an ability to unite all parts of the party, and would be competative in every section of the commonwealth.
So if John Warner retires, the RPV could do a lot worse than push Bob McDonnell into the race.
UPDATE!!!
BVBL has some thoughts on the matter:
Bob McDonnell would make an absolutely tremendous United States Senator and he is well positioned to win the seat if he chose to run. Not only would this head off a direct Bolling vs. McDonnell race for Governor which would be distressing to many of us who genuinely like and respect both of these fine men, but putting these two in complimentary and parallel trajectories makes perfect sense. I would much rather see these two campaigning for each other than running against each other in a primary.
This makes so much sense it’s stunning. Please, someone up there in those rarified heights of the state political scene — make this happen!
Amen.
FOR FUNSIES:
This is a great idea. I've been hearing some similar talk as well. I think McDonnell would be an excellent candidate for Senate. I also think he would be a great Governor. Either way, he is the best guy the GOP can get for a statewide race.
He is the leader of the GOP at present in Virginia. He is a strong leader on important issues such as public safety. He is a great Attorney General. He'd be a great governor. He'd also be a great Senator.
Posted by: Southwest by Southeast | December 04, 2006 at 03:31 PM
This is a great idea. I think McDonnell would be an excellent candidate for Senate. I also think he would be a great Governor. Either way, he is the best guy the GOP can get for a statewide race.
He is the leader of the GOP at present in Virginia. He is a strong leader on important issues such as public safety. He is a great Attorney General. He'd be a great governor. He'd also be a great Senator.
Posted by: Southwest by Southeast | December 04, 2006 at 03:32 PM
McDonnell's got the right resume: legislative experience, military record, statewide political experience and stateside appeal.
Personally, I don't think Sen. Warner will retire, but McDonnell would be a good replacement should Warner decide to move on.
Posted by: Weary in Williamsburg | December 04, 2006 at 03:47 PM
Yeah and the Dems couldn't slime McDonnell the way they did with Allen if they run another vet. Can't blast McDonnell as a chicken hawk, his daughter served.
Posted by: MC | December 04, 2006 at 04:43 PM
AND . . .
it would also ease the logjam for 2009. Bill Bolling will make an EXCELLENT governor one day. Actually, the more i think about it, maybe HE should be running for the Senate. He proved his low-tax cred when he was the lone wolf fighting against the Warner taxincreases
Posted by: MC | December 04, 2006 at 04:56 PM
I love having Bob McDonnell as our AG but I don't think he could win statewide office as either GOV or Senator, especailly against a Mark Warner or Time Kaine type. I would personally like to see him run for AG again and increase his winning margin and then go for governor maybe after another term. As for Bolling, I don't think he can win the governors office either, just because he just barely beat the most far left socialist type canidate the democrats have ever offered, Leslie Byrne. I think Deeds would take it to either of these guys in for years in the governors race. In other words, I think a fresh perspective is needed.
Just my two cents, but I think we need a senator with plenty of military and and foreign policy expertise to counter James Webb. Right now I can't think of anyone but there has to be someone with those military and foreign relations credidentials. I am sure more than one former GOP cabinet member or General currently lives in VA.
Posted by: 10thdistrictrepublican | December 04, 2006 at 07:29 PM
Actually I think both Bolling and McDonnell could win, given the Allen election in 2006. Allen proved that you CAN win while getting whipped out in NoVa. Allen lost becasue he ran behind congressional candidates across the state.
In a national election like the Senate, Bolling or McDonnell or Davis could exploit Virginia's more conservative bent to beat even Mark Warner.
Republicans seem to think Mark Warner is some unbeatable entity that God himself could not beat. The fact is he did almost nothing for two years, then raised taxes. Thats it. Democrats didn't buy into the hype that George Allen was "unbeatable" and Republicans should stop thinking Warner is. If JIM FREAKING WEBB can beat George Allen, I have NO doubt that Bob McDonnell, Tom Davis, or Bill Bolling could beat Mark Warner. Its about effort, energy, and belief.
Posted by: MC | December 04, 2006 at 07:37 PM
I know some folks deep within the McDonnell camp, and they say that 2009 is their year. They are still focusing on a race for Governor.
I agree that he would make a great U.S. Senator for Virginia, but he's putting together a record in Richmond that he wants to build on as Guv.
Posted by: On Good Authority | December 05, 2006 at 09:21 AM