Seriously?
http://www.wjla.com/...
What’s next for Ken Cuccinelli?
Having lost the closer-than-expected Virginia gubernatorial election last week against Democrat Terry McAuliffe, he still has work to do in his remaining weeks as the state’s attorney general but nonetheless faces an uncertain political future.
Or not.
That’s the word the past several days from a variety of conservative thinkers who believe Cuccinelli should run for the U.S. Senate next year against the popular incumbent and former Virginia governor Mark Warner.
Take, for example what columnist Judson Phillips wrote last week in the Washington Times:
“. . .In short, Ken Cuccinelli is the only potential candidate in Virginia with statewide name recognition who could take on Mark Warner and make this seat competitive. Cuccinelli has a lot of advantages that no one else has. His statewide organization is still intact. Another advantage is if he ran, the Republican Party would almost be forced to give him a significant amount of help.”
And then there’s this from Quin Hillyer:
“There’s every reason to believe ObamaCare will be an albatross around donkey necks next fall as well, and especially around the necks of senators such as Warner, without whose vote the dreadful law would not have passed. Because of his terrific lawsuit against Obamacare, there is nobody on Earth who is better suited than Cuccinelli to make that case against Warner.”
If the Affordable Care Act continues to struggle, the thinking goes, Cuccinelli and his Tea Party supporters suddenly don’t look like obstructionists but wise people ahead of the curve.
Mark Rozell, however, is skeptical. He’s the Acting Dean and Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, and says that “unless circumstances change substantially,” Warner would be “extremely” hard to beat. - WJLA 5, 11/14/13
Honestly, who really thinks Ken Cuccinelli running up against Mark Warner next year after a narrow but humiliating defeat earlier this month? Apparently right-wing newspapers have a boner for the idea of Cuccinelli running for Senate:
http://www.americanthinker.com/...
Virginia Republicans may have a strong candidate for the 2014 US Senate seat in Ken Cuccinelli. As reported in the Daily Caller, conservative writer and Congressional candidate Quin Hillyer gives voice to a movement to draft Ken to run against incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Mark Warner.
Yet it would be a problem for the 2013 campaigner Ken Cuccinelli to run for U.S. Senate, from what we saw in Ken's unsuccessful campaign for governor. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Ken Cuccinelli as a potential senator. Yet Ken will fail badly unless he fires his 2013 campaign strategists, consultants, and leaders, and adopts a new strategy.
Note that no Republican is currently running who has ever held elected office before. That is why Ken Cuccinelli is such an interesting possibility. Many leaders are enthusiastic about either Howie Lind or Shak Hill. Yet in enormous and highly political Virginia, no Republican either well-known or experienced is even hinting at running. I have been talking up Ollie North or Gary Bauer, teasing Jim Martin about running, and hoping for Jamie Radtke, Bob Marshall, or George Allen. Maybe E.W. Jackson will run. Apparently Newt Gingrich has said no. - American Thinker, 11/12/13
Will he actually run for Senate. Some folks are pretty doubtful:
http://www.staffordcountysun.com/...
What about all that Cuccinelli for Senate talk? Again just spin. Expect him to take to the airwaves, write another book and “profit” from his defeat. Through finance he can find solace in the fact he will be never be called governor or senator. Fine with me and over 63 percent of Virginia.- Stafford County Sun, 11/14/13
Plus Virginia Democrats aren't even finished with going after Cuccinelli:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Democrat Mark Herring and Republican Mark Obenshain, locked in a razor-thin contest for attorney general, on Wednesday both named transition teams.
The State Board of Elections updated the count to reflect provisional ballots from Fairfax County. Herring now leads by 164 votes out of more than 2.2 million cast.
Herring had declared victory late Tuesday night, saying "voters in Virginia have spoken." At a news conference in Richmond on Wednesday, Obenshain termed Herring's declaration "bravado" and said the Democrat should resign from his state Senate seat if he is so confident.
Obenshain said talk of a recount is premature, pending the Nov. 25 vote certification by the State Board of Elections.
Obenshain also said he is not
concerned about conflict of interest questions Democrats are raising because Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is calling on supporters to help fund Obenshain's potential recount. Cuccinelli's office advises and counsels state agencies -- including the elections board, which would be in charge of a recount.
State Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, on Wednesday called on Cuccinelli to "stop tainting the electoral process and to refrain from fundraising for Senator Obenshain."
Cuccinelli has a critical role to play to help ensure Virginians have confidence in the outcome, McEachin said in a statement.
"Attorney General Cuccinelli needs to take his responsibilities seriously in this process and refrain from his overt and extreme partisanship," he said. - Huffington Post, 11/14/13
So yeah, maybe the Cooch better think carefully about running against Warner and not give in to the right-wing fan base cheering the idea. Plus I don't want the Cooch to run. For the obvious reasons, of course, but I also just have too many races to write about. It was fun writing a lot about the Virginia Governor's race this past month but I'm ready to move on. Plus I doubt Cuccinelli would even make the race competitive for Warner but then again, I could be wrong. Stay tuned.