Harry Reid Encouraging Tim Kaine To Run For Virginia Senate Seat

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has privately encouraged Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine to launch a bid for the Senate seat soon to be vacated by retiring Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), Democratic sources tell the Huffington Post.

The DNC chairman and former Virginia governor is already scheduled to have talks with President Barack Obama about leaving his current post and making a run for Congress. But the talks with Reid suggest that the private push to get him into the race is farther along than previously reported.

That said, Kaine is some time away from making up his mind, according to several Democratic sources familiar with his thinking. He has not "embraced it yet," said one Democrat. "He needs time to think about it."

Kaine is set to speak at the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Richmond this weekend. Sources say a decision on a Senate run won't come before that fundraising event.

Clearly, however, he is considered the top get among a potentially deep pool of Democratic candidates in the state, a pool that also includes former Reps. Tom Perriello and Rick Boucher.

"[Kaine] is an obvious top choice," said one top party strategist. "With him you are going with a guy that not only has high favorability but is a known quantity statewide..."

Helping matters, however slightly, is a somewhat uncertain field on the Republican side of the ledger. Former Sen. George Allen has already announced that he will run for his old seat, but Richmond tea party founder Jamie Radtke has said she will challenge Allen for the nomination.

UPDATE:

The Washington Post reports on Rep. Perriello's potential interest in the seat:

And if Kaine doesn't run, Perriello said, "I will consider it. Part of what I'm asking as a question is whether you can make more of an impact on people's lives from inside the system or outside the system."

Comments

[murphysgirl]

11:23 PM on 02/16/2011

I think Kaine should run..As a former governor he should have broader appeal to Virginians, which hopefully will give him an edge over the competition.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

03:31 PM on 02/16/2011

YOU MEAN THE BLITHERINGLY INCOMPETENT HEAD OF THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY WHO HAS SAID ABLOLUTELY NOTHING IN SUPPORT
OF UNION WORKERS IN WISCONSIN ?!?!?!?!?!

AS INCOMPETENT A DEMOCRATIC POLITICIAN AS THE PROVEN SAD-SACK REID.

[Artanis71]

06:27 PM on 02/16/2011

Your caps lock key is on, oh and ?!?! is annoying.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

01:06 AM on 02/17/2011

SORRY TO F-ING ANNOY YOU!!!!!!!!?

[iceage7]

03:12 PM on 02/16/2011

Obama gears for Re-election

Robert Gibbs will be chairman of DNC..Re-election campaign
David Plouff: heading the White house Re-election campaign
David Axelrod: heading the Chicago head quarters Re-election campaign

There u have key re-election campaign positions headed by people familiar with Obama in:
Strategy
Fundraising
messeging
All on the same page

Any doubters Gibbs will be DNC chairman. The post usually goes to the presidents closest friend/ally etc..Obama would love to reward Gibbs with this post..for the last hurah

[GundamJack]

02:43 PM on 02/16/2011

Tim Kaine was governor of VA for a short time. We need Tim Kaine to leave the DNC as soon as possible and President Obama is not going to fire him from the DNC Chair anytime soon. I am looking at the big picture now and we need to remove Tim Kaine now. We need start up a Democrat PAC to get Tim Kaine out of the DNC. It for the “greater good” to save the Democrat Party from bad leadership under Tim Kaine or we will have problems in the next election.

[SPacific]

10:10 PM on 02/16/2011

The Dems retained the Senate while Kaine was and is the DNC chair..........

[Allen Reed Jensen]

02:14 PM on 02/16/2011

The man could not win reelection if he had tried. There is no way he could win a U.S. Senate seat in Virginia. Obama will probably implement a John Kerry/Al Gore strategy and not try at all in both Virgina and North Carolina unless someone like Sarah Palin is the nominee. George Allen will once again be a U.S. senator.

[GundamJack]

02:43 PM on 02/16/2011

I hope that you are wrong.

[rbndc]

02:53 PM on 02/16/2011

Your Obama strategy is unlikely. Virginia has a couple of very sizeable Democratic or at least moderate toeholds in the state, and I believe Obama will try to capitalize on that, not ignore the state.

[Panther2000]

02:00 PM on 02/16/2011

Hopefully he'll be a better candidate than he is a s DNC chair

[Stuzzadelic]

01:34 PM on 02/16/2011

Tim Kaine 2016. Let's send him straight to the White House after Obama finishes his second term.

[Dogvane]

01:25 PM on 02/16/2011

It's like Harry had such a good time during his last run for office, he's got to get his friends to try it too!

[rascalcat]

01:19 PM on 02/16/2011

He might as well.
 
His record of getting Dems elected is certainly nothing to brag about.
 
He's no HoDean.

[fishdude]

01:35 PM on 02/16/2011

Wow, talk about making a comment WAY out of context. If you put things into context, you honestly can't (or shouldn't) put the blame on Kaine for the recent loss.

First, history wasn't on the Dems side, because most parties that control the WH and Congress lose control in the mid-terms. Ask Clinton and Reagan how that felt.

Second, the economy lost Dems the control of the house and almost the Senate. If your "HoDean" would've been DNC Chairmain...he would've lost too.

[Unshriven]

01:56 PM on 02/16/2011

Au contraire, fishdude, the comment was in context and spot on.
Kaine squandered the machine Dean built.
Obama and Kaine thought they had it covered. They didn't

[MrsFreeze]

01:01 PM on 02/16/2011

"a potentially deep pool of Democratic candidates in the state?" says who? no one can name anyone beyond kaine, boucher or perriello. there is no magical dem in the wings in VA.

[wef100]

12:31 PM on 02/16/2011

One wimp politician endorses another. Why am I not surprised?

[raleigh1997]

12:56 PM on 02/16/2011

Kaine was a great Governor here in VA and will easily beat ant GOPer.

[MrStat1]

12:58 PM on 02/16/2011

Don't bet your farm on that one just yet.

[MrsFreeze]

01:04 PM on 02/16/2011

i agree that he's the best shot dems have for the seat and i like the guy personally but i'm not sure about the great governor thing. mainly because of our one-term guvs. they rarely ever achieve anything substantial.

[The Cause Endures]

12:29 PM on 02/16/2011

Please.

Please do it.

We need another Dean in his position.

[jmichaelmunger]

12:24 PM on 02/16/2011

If it means that Feingold or Ed Rendell become DNC Chair then I'm all for it.

[The Cause Endures]

12:31 PM on 02/16/2011

here here

[Marilyn Gott]

12:35 PM on 02/16/2011

Sounds great to me!!

[katooom]

12:53 PM on 02/16/2011

dont count on rendell, he is off to make the big money.

[MrStat1]

12:58 PM on 02/16/2011

Or Feingold. Too Leftist!

[jmichaelmunger]

01:01 PM on 02/16/2011

Plus he has already been the DNC Chair once before.

[Grumpy Chief]

12:13 PM on 02/16/2011

George Allen came out on a local news channel last week and said he wants to return Virginia back to the Jeffersonian era.

I'm wondering what he means by that?

[dojone]

12:19 PM on 02/16/2011

That's like when every citizen has the right to own someone, how could you not remember that Grumpty? (love your name there, that is also my husband's nickname)

[dojone]

12:22 PM on 02/16/2011

sorry to have misspelled your name

[jmichaelmunger]

12:20 PM on 02/16/2011

The 'macacas' work for free... if you know what I mean.

[jebeasley]

11:59 AM on 02/16/2011

I would rather see Perriello run for that seat.

[raleigh1997]

12:59 PM on 02/16/2011

Kaine will win, Perriello will not.

[Joan Kark]

03:36 PM on 02/16/2011

I agree. As much as I like Perriello, Kaine has more comparable experience as George Allen. They were both former governors. Kaine is someone who can win across the state against Allen or any other GOP candidate.

[MrStat1]

12:59 PM on 02/16/2011

Excellent. In conservative Virginia he would get crushed!

[Joan Kark]

03:38 PM on 02/16/2011

Obama carried conservative Virginia by 6 points. If you look at the census data, you will see that Virginia has changed--more minorities who won't vote for Allen.