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The race for Virginia Democrat Mark Warner’s Senate seat isn’t nearly as competitive as those for some of his purple-to-redder-state colleagues currently in hot water, and according to a Quinnipiac poll released today, Warner holds a solid 15-point lead over likely Republican challenger Ed Gillespie — but I think it’s safe to say that his lead isn’t because Virginia voters just adore ObamaCare: Warner is favored by 46 percent of voters as he seeks a second term, compared with 31 percent for Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, according to the Quinnipiac University survey. Libertarian Robert Sarvis...

Virginia, considered a swing state, is swinging blue for U.S. Sen. Mark Warner in his reelection drive this year and for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if she runs for the White House in 2016, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Sen. Warner tops former White House aide Ed Gillespie, a possible Republican challenger, 46 - 31 percent, with 6 percent for Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Virginia voters say 49 - 36 percent that Warner deserves reelection. They approve 55 - 33 percent of the job he is doing and...

Several Democratic senators reportedly plan to introduce as soon as Thursday a set of principles and legislation aimed at fixing parts of ObamaCare amid concerns the law could cost Democrats House seats and possibly the Senate in November. Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Mark Begich, D-Alaska; Mary Landrieu, D-La.; Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.; Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; and Sen. Angus King, I., Maine, will introduce proposals to improve the law, The Wall Street Journal reported. Begich and Warner have called for allowing "copper" plans on the government-run health exchanges. The new insurance plans would offer lower premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs than the...

A Republican Senate hopeful in Virginia has turned the tables on his Democratic competition, claiming that his political foe is waging a war on women — by supporting abortion. Shak Hill, who’s running for the U.S. Senate seat for Virginia, blasted his incumbent Democratic counterpart, Mark Warner, for waging a “war on girls” by easing the path for late-term abortion, in a statement and accompanying YouTube video “Mark Warner is waging a war on girls, and it’s killing them,” Mr. Hill said in the statement. “Warner claims he personally opposes abortion, yet he demands that the government give women a...

Here are the 14 Senate races for seats presently held by Democrats but for which Republicans are either favored to win or serious contenders: 1. West Virginia: Rep. Shelley Moore Capito v. no one. Jay Rockefeller quit after Capito got into the race. She will win, going away. 2. South Dakota: Former Governor Mike Rounds in South Dakota v. no one in South Dakota This is a mortal lock for the popular Rounds. 3. Arkansas: Rep. Tom Cotton v. the hapless legacy senator Mark Pryor in Ark Pryor won his seat because his dad held it for years. Now the...

The Obama administration is set to announce another major delay in implementing the Affordable Care Act, easing election pressure on Democrats. As early as this week, according to two sources, the White House will announce a new directive allowing insurers to continue offering health plans that do not meet ObamaCare’s minimum coverage requirements. Prolonging the “keep your plan” fix will avoid another wave of health policy cancellations otherwise expected this fall. The cancellations would have created a firestorm for Democratic candidates in the last, crucial weeks before Election Day. The White House is intent on protecting its allies in the...

**SNIP** Midterm elections are often a reflection of the approval rating of the incumbent president and now President Obama stands at 42.8%. And elections in the 6th year of a PresidentÂ’s term are usually not good for the incumbentÂ’s party. To make things even worse for Democrats, the issues of a weak economy and Obamacare make November look bleak for Harry Reid and his Senate Democratic cohorts. â—¾Alaska, Mark Begich â—¾Arkansas, Mark Pryor â—¾Louisiana, Mary Landrieu â—¾Michigan, Open Seat (liberal Democrat Carl Levin retiring) â—¾Montana, John Walsh â—¾North Carolina, Kay Hagan â—¾South Dakota, being vacated by retiring Democrat Tim Johnson...

With control of the U.S. Senate up for grabs this November, a single seat may determine who has the majority. That’s why Republicans should find it disconcerting that two of their establishment lions have broken ranks and are backing Democratic candidates in competitive races. The latest apostate is former senator John Warner of Virginia, who announced this week he is backing incumbent Democratic senator Mark Warner for reelection. He is thus giving the back of his hand to former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, a former George W. Bush adviser, who has a decent shot at winning and is no wild-eyed...

<p>Former Republican Sen. John W. Warner on Monday endorsed his Democratic successor over a past national GOP chairman in the race for the U.S. Senate seat he held for 30 years.</p> <p>Warner told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he is supporting Sen. Mark Warner, who is being challenged by Ed Gillespie in November's election. The Warners are not related.</p>

Former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie has little to lose and much to gain from running against Mark Warner in Virginia's Senate race. ..Sure, Warner is an incredibly formidable opponent, certainly as strong as a Democrat in Virginia could possibly be. He has built a reputation as governor, and in the Senate, as a moderate and pragmatist. He is one of the handful of Democrats whom Republicans can go to when trying to forge a compromise, and he is one of the few Democrats equally at ease working across the aisle with Republicans. Virginia is also a very expensive state for...

He isn't giving GOP primary endorsements, but Tea Party leader Sen. Ted Cruz calls newly-minted Virginia Senate candidate Ed Gillespie a friend, and he blasted the Republican's opponent, Democratic Sen Mark Warner. The Texan told the Hill's Cameron Joseph: "I like Ed Gillespie, he is a friend of mine, he's a good man. That's ultimately a decision for the voters of Virginia." ...Cruz has vowed to stay out of GOP primaries. But their friendship is more than talk: Gillespie and his wife contributed Cruz's upstart campaign in 2012.

Republican political consultant and former White House aide Ed Gillespie announced his plan to run for U.S. Senate in Virginia Thursday morning. He will run against incumbent Mark Warner, a Democrat. Gillespie previously served as chairman of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's 2009 campaign and as a Republican National Committee chairman. He also co-founded government relations firm Quinn Gillespie and Associates. However, he faces a challenge of name recognition -- or lack thereof. "I don't think anybody in Virginia knows who Ed Gillespie is," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat representing Fairfax County. "I'll bet you if you check name...

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie made it official Wednesday, announcing in a web video that he will challenge Democratic Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia this year. Mr. Gillespie said in the video that he’s running for Senate “because the American Dream is being undermined by policies that move us away from constitutional principles of limited government and personal liberty." Virginia Republicans, hungry for a victory after being shut out of the top three statewide offices for the first time in more than two decades, are mobilizing quickly to target Mr. Warner, a popular first-term incumbent and former...

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is in a lot more trouble than it seems. Despite his ample war chest and approval ratings, only 50 percent of Virginians say Warner should get a second term. And independents, by a margin of 49 to 43 percent, say they would rather have someone new in Virginia’s Senate seat.Moreover, Warner will have to defend his deciding vote for Obamacare during a midterm election that will likely be driven by voter anger over Obamacare. Virginians upset about President Obama’s false promise that “If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan” will be...

The Republican National Committee began running ads in 40 media markets Tuesday mostly targeting incumbent senators who supported President Barack Obama’s health care program. Billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, gave $2.5 million to help Democrats defend their majority in the Senate. The early action suggests Republicans see the president’s signature domestic achievement as their way to keep control of the House and perhaps win the Senate. With more than 300 days remaining before Election Day, both sides are looking to set the agenda before voters start paying attention. “Obamacare is going to be the issue in 2014,”...

The Republican National Committee unveiled a slew of new radio ads Tuesday targeting vulnerable Democratic senators and Senate hopefuls on Obamacare -- including in two races where major would-be Republican challengers have yet to join the race.The ads are set to air in 40 media markets nationwide, including in New Hampshire, where Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is seeking re-election, and Virginia, where Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is running for a second term. Neither seat had been seriously considered to be in play, but a prominent Republican is now weighing a bid in each race: former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in...

HOT SPRINGS, Va.—Former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie is considering a run against Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) next year. “It’s a very winnable race,” the powerful GOP insider told POLITICO in a Saturday afternoon interview. Continue Reading Gillespie, who has never sought public office, floated the trial balloon at The Homestead resort, where about 500 activists and party leaders are gathered for a three-day annual meeting known as “The Advance.” (PHOTOS: Senators up for election in 2014) “It’s safe to say that there’s people talking about it here, and I’m listening to them,” he said, noting that nearly...

Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.) could be facing a tough reelection campaign next year, according to a Washington Free Beacon poll of Virginia voters conducted last week. Fifty percent of Virginians said that Warner should be reelected against a generic candidate; 45 percent saying they would elect someone new. By a 49 to 43 percent margin, Independents said they would rather have a different senator than stick with Warner. Regionally, Warner is over 50 percent only in Northern Virginia, while 63 percent of residents in Shenandoah favor the nameless, faceless new candidate. The poll suggests that President Barack Obama’s dropping...

In 2010 Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) took to YouTube and promised the people of Virginia that he was "not going to support a health care reform plan that's going to take away health care that you've got right now or a health plan that you like."

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,...