Election 2017 is not quite over yet as recounts and legal challenges move forward. But the politics of 2018 are already getting hot and heavy.
Former Governor Jim Gilmore says he’s considering a run for the United States Senate seat currently held by Tim Kaine. Of course, before he runs in the general he would have to get through a primary that already features firebrand Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart.
Gilmore says he’s not really concerned about Stewart. “I believe as the kind of Republican that I am that I would be nominated if I decided to run. But that’s not my focus. My focus is on actually being the senator, and the question is are the people of Virginia happy with their two Democrat senators voting the way that they do in opposition to everything that’s going on or do they want change?”
Stewart says he feels confident he could defeat Gilmore. “When he ran for president, he got two votes in his home precinct -- two. Meaning he got no other people to vote for him in his home precinct than himself and his wife.”
Gilmore had already dropped out of the race when Virginians went to the polls on Super Tuesday last year. Former Lieutenant Governor candidate E.W. Jackson and Delegate Nick Freitas are also seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate race next year.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
