Former Governor Warner Wins Virginia Senate Seat

As expected, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner has breezed to victory in his bid for the Senate, capturing for Democrats a Southern seat long held by Republicans and fueling expectations that Democrats would solidify their now-thin majority in the chamber, the Associated Press reports. Warner bested another former governor, Republican Jim Gilmore , in the race to replace retiring five-term Sen. John Warner . The two Warners aren’t related. Warner will join fellow Democrat, Sen. Jim Webb , as Virginia’s representative in the Senate. And his victory underscores the erosion in Republican dominance in a state that was long reliably red. As Gerald Seib wrote in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal , Virginia voters have long been Republican stalwarts, but three years ago they picked a Democratic governor and two years ago a Democratic senator. “If they also cast their lot with a Democrat in the presidential race, there is almost no plausible scenario for Sen. McCain to ... (link)