GOP Predecessor Sen. John Warner Backs Dem Sen. Mark Warner

[DonViejo]

DANIEL STRAUSS – JANUARY 27, 2014, 12:33 PM EST

Former Republican Sen. John Warner (VA) has endorsed Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) for reelection, according to the Associated Press. Former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie is challenging Warner in 2014.

The former Republican senator actually was Sen. Warner's predecessor. Sen. Warner's campaign will likely repeatedly highlight this endorsement as the Democratic senator's re-election campaign has focused on his bipartisan appeal.

The former Republican senator was known as something of a maverick during his three decades in the Senate. Sen. John Warner also defeated current-Sen. Mark Warner in 1996 when the Democrat made his first run at the Senate.

The Warners are not related.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/john-warner-endorses-mark-warner

[hrmjustin]

1. That should help.

[stillwaiting]

2. Warner is an economic conservative. He could be a 1980's-era Republican.

Things will not get better with Democrats like Warner.

They will probably get worse more slowly though.

[billh58]

3. Mark Warner is/was

a DLC poster boy -- right up there with Joe LIEberman.

[Va Lefty]

4. I wouldn't put him in same class as holy joe, but not the progressive Sen. we need

[spooky3]

5. Unfortunately we are probably going to have to wait longer for

Last edited Mon Jan 27, 2014, 04:49 PM - Edit history (1)

More progressive candidates to be able to win statewide office.

The blue urban areas continue to grow rapidly, which is good. On the other hand, state wide Dem organizing has not moved forward as well as it did with Howard Dean in the lead. And we took a huge step back when the Reps were able to gerrymander in gross disproportion to their voters' #s.

[onenote]

6. Warner gets very high scores in a number of areas

He's consistently rated 100% by NARAL and Planned Parenthood.
THe NEA and other union groupls score him very high as well, while the chabmer of commerce and business groups, rank him in the bottom third at best. While he doesnt' get "perfect" scores from "liberal" groups (for example the ADA gives him 85 percent), conservative groups rate him around 25 pecent at best. He also scores at or near 100 percent with environmental groupd such as League of Conservation and Defenders of Wildlife.

Keep in mind that this is Virginia. For a Democrat t win statewide, he has to be perceived as moderate. Warner is probably morre progressive than most people perceive him to be, which makes him exactly the kind of Democrat that can be elected statewide in Virginia.

[William769]

7. Kick & recommended.

[MADem]

8. That's a very helpful endorsement, particularly in the southern part of the state. nt

[LynneSin]

9. That's because if John Warner was still a senator today he'd be primaried by the Tea Party

and in a state like Virginia he'd probably lose too.

John Warner was a moderate and by today's definition that would make him more a democrat than a republican.