VA Sen: Report says Davis (R) likely to drop out

[Adlai Stevenson]

Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), "who has been seen as a leading candidate to replace retiring Sen. John Warner (R-VA) in 2008, may now be just a day away from announcing his own retirement from Congress," according to Roll Call.

Recent reports suggested that Davis "is rethinking his long-awaited Senate bid, and Congressional sources said Tuesday that a run for re-election also may be off the table for the seven-term Congressman."

"Davis admitted earlier this year that he considered retiring before the 2006 election. He said he decided to run again in part because he believed the poor political climate in the previous cycle would have enabled Democrats to pick up his Northern Virginia seat."

If Davis retires, the VA-11 seat is very much in play.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2007/10/24/davis_may_announce_retirement_in_va11.html

[Adlai Stevenson]

Congressman Tom Davis (R) on Thursday said rumors of his looming retirement were "greatly exaggerated." However, Davis said he had not decided yet whether to seek re-election next year and will actively continue fundraising for his re-election in order to keep his 2008 options open. Davis also used his remarks to bash his own party. He attacked the Virginia GOP leaders for deciding to select a US Senate nominee next year with a convention instead of a primary, calling that a process "behind closed doors." He then went on to attack the national Republican Party as being "at a fork in the road right now, and we’re standing still. In my opinion, if the Republicans want to be a national party, we’re going to have to change the way we do some things. To date, that isn’t happening." He called on his party to abandon the current “issue matrix” that emphasized cultural and social issues. Instead, Davis said the GOP must return to its roots as a more centrist party that focuses on economic issues. As for the open US Senate race, Davis said he plans to be "disengaged" from everything political except his own race decision -- but promised he would quietly support the GOP Senate nominee next year.

http://www.politics1.com/