The National Republican Senatorial Committee excitedly sent out a fundraising email as soon as former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie announced his Senate candidacy today.
Gillespie will be taking on Sen. Mark Warner (D) in Virginia.
“If elected, I’ll be a servant of the people of Virginia. And a leader for policies that grow the middle class and foster upward mobility, enabling people to lift themselves out of poverty,” Gillespie said in a video announcement. “Policies that will make life better for working families and those who want to work but can’t now find a job.”
“That includes replacing Obamacare, which kills jobs and costs families the insurance and doctors they like,” Gillespie added. “Senator Mark Warner cast the deciding vote for it. If I were a Virginia Senator, it would not be law today.”
A stalwart in the GOP establishment, Gillespie was a senior adviser to Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign and a counselor in the George W. Bush administration.
“Meet Ed Gillespie, a proud conservative who is the latest to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. As the son of blue-collar immigrants and the first in his family to graduate from college, Ed has a first-hand understanding of the values, stories and struggles that have made our country great,” the NRSC blasted out in a fundraising email.
“Ed’s entrance into the Senate contest against Democratic Senator Mark Warner transforms Virginia from a safe Democrat seat into a competitive race,” the email continued. “Ed’s work ethic and life experiences have uniquely prepared him to run an extremely strong Senate campaign. Meanwhile, Senator Mark Warner has never explained to Virginians why he voted for Obamacare, or why he remains a reliable rubber-stamp for Obama’s failed agenda.”
The Senate Conservatives Fund hasn’t made an endorsement in the race, but notes that Tea Party candidates Howie Lind and Shak Hill.
Warner captured 65 percent of the vote in 2008 to defeat another former Virginia governor, Jim Gilmore.
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