Consider this a bit of Monday morning speculation. I haven’t heard anything and there is absolutely no indication that this is going to happen.
That said, with Gov. Bob McDonnell now in the dog house with conservatives, joining Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, the field to run for U.S. Senate in 2014 just got a lot smaller. It is very unlikely that we’ll see a rematch between former Gov. Jim Gilmore in challenging U.S. Senator Mark Warner. And, it’s even less likely that we’ll see former Gov. George Allen run again. And there’s no way “Governor” Cuccinelli launches a campaign within a year of being elected.
So, if not any of those men, who?
One person who should be on any short list should be U.S. Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-4th).
Just take a quick look at some highlights on Forbes’ resume:
1) He served in state office as a delegate and state senator from Chesapeake
2) Before running for Congress in the special election that occurred following the death of long-time Rep. Norman Sisisky, Forbes was actively seeking the nomination for lieutenant governor. He definitely aspired for statewide office. Does he still?
3) Forbes was chairman of the RPV when the GOP consistently won.
4) He’s currently the leader of several important caucuses – including the Congressional China Caucus and Congressional Prayer Caucus, not to mention he’s the chaiirman of the all-important Seapower subcommittee. And, perhaps most importantly…
5) His voting record is impeccable; there will be very little that the most noisy of Republicans in the tent can find fault in him, unlike, say, a Bill Bolling or Bob McDonnell.
So, on this Monday morning, the only question is whether he wants to run or not?
