The White House isn’t the only place where DNC chair Tim Kaine’s future is being debated. Huffington Post’s Sam Stein reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has also been courting Kaine to run for Senate in Virginia, now that Sen. Jim Webb (D) has retired.
According to Stein, Reid has “privately encouraged” Kaine to run in the race that would pit the former governor of Virginia against the winner of the Republican nomination fight currently led by former Sen. George Allen.
The Senate race will be closely-watched, with polls of a hypothetical matchup between Kaine and Allen showing the race effectively tied.
On Tuesday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the White House is also wooing Kaine for a Senate run. Kaine has said in the past he’s not interested, but now his confidants are being much more coy about his future plans.
Stein reports that “sources say a decision on a Senate run won’t come before” this weekend’s annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner in Richmond.
Read Stein’s report here.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.