Cantor Says No?

Hey, I've been busy the past few days and unable to comment on Eric Cantor's apparent decision not to run for the open Senate seat from Virginia. (The online petition that Mason Conservative and Bearing Drift started has been yanked out of cyberspace.) Really unfortunate. It's fine for Cantor to support Gilmore, but that will never be the same as Cantor taking the plunge himself. For the Rs to be able to beat Mark Warner, they'll need to run smart. And Cantor is an ideas guy. Cantor offering his own ideas for Gilmore to use (to the extent they're both willing) is not the same as Cantor poking Gilmore in the eye with his ideas. While Gilmore is very good on taxes, he sometimes falls into the trap of thinking that he can attract left-leaning voters by offering democrat lite. And for sure WaPo and the rest of the establishment media will be yammering about how the republicans need to be more like the democrats to win. This never works. It suppresses the republican turn out with no gain -- voters that want democrats are going to vote democrat. Had Cantor been in the race, it would have been very hard for Gilmore to fall into the trap of running to the left. Maybe Bob Marshall or Chris Saxman will be able to fill the void left by Cantor. Color me skeptical.

Run Eric, Run

The blogosphere in Virginia is trying to draft Eric Cantor into the race for the republican nomination for U.S. Senator from Virginia. The Mason Conservative, Bearing Drift, and the Right-Wing Liberal are all encouraging Cantor to run. We here at DC Politics News hope Cantor answers the call. Jim Gilmore is an excellent candidate who, in our opinion, has a good chance to beat Mark Warner. Eric Cantor, however, is a rock star (at least among VA repubs) -- read the Weekly Standard's piece on him here. He would inject energy, ideas and, frankly, a bit of drama into what would otherwise be a Jim Gilmore coronation at the Republican convention next year. Cantor's entry into the race would force Gilmore to become an even better candidate and would likely cause more Virginians to focus on the race. The Rs desperately need to hang on to this Senate seat after a string of dispiriting losses in Virginia. Cantor's entry into the race makes that much more likely. If you agree, you can do your bit to encourage Cantor by signing an online petition here.

Heed the call Eric. Run!