Tom Davis

With John Warner gobbling up headlines, it’s a good time to return to the question of his political future – namely, does the 80-year-old Republican have one?

The betting for some time now is that he doesn’t, and that he will hang it up next year when his fifth terms expires. Certainly, his almost non-existent fundraising ($500 in the first quarter of this year) encourages that talk, not to mention the fact that he lost his Armed Services Committee chairmanship when the Democrats reclaimed the Senate in January.

He’s been coy publicly, but it would be truly stunning if he opts to run again. When he does make his retirement official, it will set off what could be the hottest Senate race in the country in ’08.

Virginia, which last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1964, is a newly-minted swing state. Sweeping demographic changes in the Washington, D.C. suburbs have essentially split the state into two political regions – the fast-growing Democratic north, and the traditionally conservative southern and western areas. Since 2001, Democrats have won three of four statewide elections, and the national party is primed to target the Old Dominion’s 13 electoral votes in 2008.

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