Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore said Tuesday he is thinking about a Senate run for the seat currently held by Tim Kaine, but he still has some thinking and polling to do.
“I certainly have always believed in helping my country and helping my state, so I’m measuring right now the sense of satisfaction right now with their United State Senators,” Gilmore told WMAL. “I’m open to making the run but I have not made a decision to run for the U.S. Senate next year.”
Gilmore served as Virginia’s Governor from 1998 to 2002. He has gone oh-for-three in campaigns since then: two for President, and one for Virginia’s other Senate seat. He suffered a bruising 31-point loss to Mark Warner in 2008. His 2016 presidential campaign came to an end after he received 133 votes in the New Hampshire primary and 12 in the Iowa Caucuses.
Gilmore declined to opine on other Republican candidates that have announced their intentions to face off against Kaine in 2018, but he did say he was likely contacted by the Virginia Republican Senatorial Committee due to their concerns with the likes of Corey Stewart, E.W. Jackson, and Nick Freitas.
“There are three people at this point in the race, but I think they question whether or not they can be competitive with Senator Kaine,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said last month’s elections that saw Democrats handily winning all three statewide offices and picking up dozens of House seats doesn’t concern him.
“When I ran for Governor, I carried Fairfax County, and I refuse to believe that demographics have changed so much that a conservative Republican can’t carry Fairfax County or Northern Virginia,” he said. “You have to address the concerns, the issues, that are facing working men and women. If the issues turn on the issues of race or gender or other issues like that, then I think the Democrats have a big advantage.”
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