Mark Warner For U. S. Senate

Sen. John Warner’s exit from the political stage creates quite a power vacuum.

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner is the man to fill the void.

Republican John Warner, 81, spent nearly three decades in the Senate. He was often the voice of moderation in a party that has taken a sharp turn to the right in recent years. Yet, he remained a staunch defender of the military and was notably hawkish on defense.

Mark Warner, no relation to the retiring senator, is a Democrat, but he is no liberal. The 53-year-old made his fortune in the wireless communications industry and served a four-year stint as Virginia’s governor. He remains popular in spite of a successful push for a necessary tax increase in a state notoriously averse to taxes.

Jim Gilmore, the Republican Senate candidate, was Mark Warner’s immediate predecessor in the Virginia governor’s office. His tenure is remembered with less fondness by most state residents.

Gilmore proudly says that he stands on the side of the taxpayer and he won election by promising to repeal the state’s personal property tax on cars. But he charged ahead with the tax rollback, even though economic conditions in the state had deteriorated. Ultimately, he left office with the state in a $6 million budget hole.

We also note that his signature issue – ending the car tax – was never fully realized; state residents still pay a portion of the tax because Virginia could not afford to fully absorb this cost.

Mark Warner took office in 2002 and faced immediate budget woes. He trimmed state government to the bone – cuts that hurt more in this region, which relies on state aid to fund essential services. With the state’s AAA bond rating in danger, Warner collaborated with moderate Republicans to pass a broad-based tax increase. The tax increase protected the bond rating, which allows the state to borrow money for big projects at a better rate, and provided adequate funding for schools, prisons and other key services.

Warner, the governor, left the state in robust financial health, and saw its business climate recognized as one of the best in the nation by Forbes magazine. The state also was named one of the “best governed” under his watch.

Both Warner and Gilmore flirted with presidential campaigns. Warner’s generated quite a bit of buzz, as did talk of adding him to the Obama ticket as vice president. Warner brushed aside the veep talk, and chose to focus on his Senate race.

Gilmore, meanwhile, couldn’t generate much Republican interest in his fledgling presidential bid. It appears he has limited appeal even in his own party.

And his vocal opposition to both credit market bailout plans has left him without the endorsement of John Warner, an uncommon snub. Warner isn’t going so far as to endorse the Democrat Warner, but his refusal to publicly endorse Gilmore speaks volumes.

And earlier, Delegate Bob Marshall nearly defeated Gilmore for the Republican Senate nomination, despite his much lower profile. Marshall’s supporters viewed Gilmore as insufficiently doctrinaire on abortion.

The view of Marshall’s supporters shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign that Gilmore is a moderate. He is far from it.

Gilmore isn’t a John Warner Republican; he’s farther to the right on almost all issues. Mark Warner is slightly left of John Warner, but much closer to the center than Gilmore. Given that Congress will remain under Democratic control , Mark Warner will be in a much better position to represent Virginia’s interests than Gilmore. Voters should see that he gets the chance.