Mark Warner confirms Senate run

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) confirmed reports that he will run for Senate in 2008, sending an e-mail to supporters and posting a video to his website Thursday morning.

In the video, Warner says he will formally announce his candidacy after this November’s state legislative elections.

{mosads}“I’ve decided the way I can contribute most to getting our country back on the right track is to serve in the United States Senate,” Warner said.

With Warner’s entry, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) claims perhaps its biggest recruit of the cycle. Warner will attempt to win the seat of Sen. John Warner (R), who announced his retirement two weeks ago.

“I have come to know Mark in the last six months and have seen he is an outstanding American leader who will run a great campaign and be a tremendous asset to his state and his country,” said DSCC Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y.). “We’re excited about his campaign and even more excited about him joining us in the Senate.”

The National Republican Senatorial Commmittee (NRSC), meanwhile, is faced with an increasing number of open seats to defend, including seats in Virginia and Nebraska, where Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) said this week that he would retire.

The NRSC was quick to announce the launch of a new site that, it says, details Mark Warner’s broken promises — DontMarkWarner.com.

“Make no mistake about it: Mark Warner is a politician who can’t be trusted to keep his promises to voters,” NRSC spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said. “And his prime example is raising Virginians' taxes by $1.38 billion” after he said he would not raise them.

While the path for Warner appears clear, Republicans will likely be faced with a primary. Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) have both expressed interest in the race.