Warner Launches Senate Bid,Vows 'Virginia Thinking'

By Anita Kumar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 5, 2008 5:05 PM

ROANOKE, Va., May 5 -- Democrat Mark R. Warner brought his kickoff U.S. Senate campaign tour here Monday morning, pledging to invest in new energy sources, expand access to health care and rebuild the state's sagging infrastructure.

"If there is ever a time for a little bit of Virginia thinking in Washington, it's now," Warner told more than 200 supporters gathered in Roanoke at a fire station plastered with red-white-and-blue signs.

Six months before the November election, the popular former governor is widely considered the front-runner to replace retiring Sen. John W. Warner in a race that could help further solidify Virginia's gradual shift toward becoming a more Democratic state. The Republican incumbent is of no relation to the Democrat.

Even Republicans acknowledge that Mark R. Warner is considered the heavy favorite. But, they say, he could still lose.

He could make a mistake the way then-Sen. George Allen did two years ago when he lost to a virtual unknown. He could be hurt by problems in the Democratic Party nationally in the coming months. He could be dragged down by his party's presidential nominee in a state that has voted for a Republican president for more than four decades.

"It can be done," said J. Kenneth Klinge, a prominent Northern Virginia Republican. "But it's going to take some luck."

Warner, 53, began his four-day tour of the state Sunday night in Abingdon in southwest Virginia, where he explained why he will be a better choice than his Republican counterpart -- either former governor James S. Gilmore III or Del. Robert G. Marshall of Prince William County -- for a seat that will help determine whether Democrats keep control of the U.S. Senate.

"If you hire me as your next United States senator, we'll prove that even in Washington we can bring Virginia independence that will provide real results," Warner said in a 20-minute speech.

Warner will be joined on some of his 11 stops on the tour by the state's two top Democrats, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and U.S. Sen. James Webb, Republican supporters and Virginians helped by programs he launched while in the governor's mansion. He will appear at the Carlyle Club in Alexandria at 7.m Monday night.

The tour launched in Abingdon, a small town nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, as recognition of the power base he built in rural Virginia during his run for governor in 2001.

More than 250 supporters greeted Warner, his wife, Lisa, and their two youngest daughters at E.B. Stanley Middle School for an early dinner of barbecue, coleslaw and pickles. A band played bluegrass music, including a song about Warner.

"He's just done so much for everyone here," said Shirley Hall, who came to the dinner with her husband, Jim, from Castlewood, 25 miles away. "He don't forget us."

Orange "Sportsmen for Warner" and handmade "Abingdon is Warner Country" signs decorated the cafeteria as Democrats, and some Republicans, enthusiastically welcomed Warner back to the town where he launched his gubernatorial campaign. Many spoke not of the Senate race but of their desire for Warner to run for president after he serves in the Senate.

"He ran the state as well as it's been run," said John Blankenship, a retiree from Abingdon who said he has voted both for Democrats and Republicans.

Warner holds a commanding lead in every poll, though it is expected to narrow as the election gets closer. National political watchers at this point see Virginia, still considered by many as a conservative Southern state, as having the Senate seat most likely to turn from Republican to Democratic.

Gilmore and Marshall will compete in a state convention this month to determine who will be the Republican nominee. No matter who wins, Republicans are expected to paint Warner as someone who is out of touch with Virginians and who broke his campaign promises as governor.

"He can be beaten," said J. Tucker Watkins, a Republican activist from southern Virginia. "We need to explain to people in Virginia that he didn't live up to his promises."

After saying on the campaign trail that he would not raise taxes, Warner pushed for a $1 billion tax increase in 2004 to balance the budget and preserve money for education and social services, a move supported by moderate Republicans.

Jim Hyland, chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee, said the key for the Republican candidate will be to raise enough money to revisit Warner's record, including his failure to spend much-needed money on transportation.

Warner, a wealthy venture capitalist who co-founded Nextel, has a huge money advantage over his potential challengers. He had $4.4 million in the bank as of March 31, while Gilmore had $208,000 and Marshall $20,000.

Del. Christopher B. Saxman, who is co-chairing presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain's Virginia campaign, said Gilmore or Marshall will benefit greatly from McCain's double-digit support in the state over either potential Democratic presidential nominee.

But Linda Wyatt, a Democratic Party leader from Roanoke, said Warner ran for office in the "heyday" of the Republicans' popularity nationwide and still managed to win by more than any other Democrat in recent years. "He has proved himself to be a statesman," she said.

In his remarks Sunday night, Warner touted his gubernatorial successes and only touched briefly on his Senate campaign issues. He never mentioned Gilmore or Marshall by name but took a couple of jabs at Gilmore for leaving the state with a deficit.

He talked about developing a plan to start bringing troops home from Iraq, relying less on foreign energy sources, expanding health care, boosting education in an effort to compete in global markets and spending more on infrastructure before natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina occur.

Analysts say Warner needs to run the same way he did in 2001, when he cast himself as a moderate Democrat who would bring a common-sense business approach to the state while staying above the partisan fray.

"He needs to convince them he hasn't changed," said Quentin Kidd, a political science professor at Christopher Newport University, which has polled Virginians on the Senate race.

Monday morning, about 20 members of Young Democrats, wearing matching blue T-shirts, took time off from school to attend the Roanoke rally.

Winston West, 17, said he supports Warner, even though he can't vote, partly because his Republican grandparents told him Warner was a good governor.

"I just think that the former governor is a good fit for the Senate," West said.

Warner, introduced to the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up," stood behind a firetruck. He gave roughly the same speech as he made in Abingdon, touting his record in Richmond. He asserted that the United States needs to stop its "addiction to foreign oil" and "start withdrawing troops" from Iraq, but offered no timetable.

"There is more to be done," Warner said. "We all know that our nation is at a crossroads. For a lot of Virginians, these are tough times."

Alease Fracier, who works at a veterans' hospital in nearby Salem, said she hopes the Democratic presidential nominee picks Warner as a vice presidential running mate. Fracier said she supports Warner because he is "ready for a change" and has "innovative ideas."