ED FOR THE COMMONWEALTH – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  Former Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie has formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from Virginia.  It will be tough, but we're for him.  From The Politico:

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie officially launched his Senate challenge to Virginia Sen. Mark Warner on Thursday, arguing that he’s the best choice to improve the state’s economy.

In a YouTube video announcement, Gillespie, who also served as a counselor to former President George W. Bush, said he’s running because “the American dream is being undermined by policies that move us away from constitutional principles of limited government and personal liberty.”

And...

Warner is a popular senator in a state that’s been trending blue on the presidential level and that elected Democrat Terry McAuliffe governor in November, and taking him on will be no easy task.

But a Gillespie aide told POLITICO Thursday morning that there’s a “big opportunity” to hit Warner on issues such as Obamacare and the stimulus package and on other instances in which the moderate senator voted with President Barack Obama — a strategy that was already apparent in Gillespie’s announcement video.

COMMENT:  Virginia has been seen as safe for Warner, a former governor who is seen as a moderate Democrat.  And Warner can count on the California-style blind Democratic vote in northern Virginia, which has swung the state left.

But Gillespie is a shrewd political operator who is not the type to take on a race he doesn't think he can win.  He's the underdog, but I look forward to this being one of the most spirited races in the country.

Gillespie's first challenge:  Virginia Republicans pick their statewide candidates in a convention, not a primary.  The convention brings out the most rigid elements in the party.  If Gillespie is forced to dance to their tune, he may be DOA.  But I suspect he's already negotiated his path privately.

January 17,  2014