McAuliffe: I wouldn’t want a ‘caretaker’ in Kaine’s Senate seat

Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe isn’t interested in appointing a caretaker to fill the Senate vacancy that would occur if Tim Kaine becomes vice president — he wants to fill the seat with someone with a political future in the state.

{mosads}”Clearly I would want to appoint someone who would run again in ’18,” McAuliffe said Thursday at an event at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia sponsored by The Hill.

“You want to make sure you keep the seat, I think the fate of the Senate, if we win the Senate back by one seat, this becomes a very important seat.”

Kaine accepted the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nomination Wednesday evening at the convention, so McAuliffe would have to name a replacement to serve until the results of a special election in 2017 if the Democrats win the White House. If the appointee decides to run again, they would have to do so in 2018 to get back onto the regular six-year election track.

McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, would almost certainly keep the seat in the hands of Democrats.

McAuliffe noted that the off-year special election could help to boost turnout for other statewide elections that year, including the governor’s race. The governor is term limited from running for reelection in 2017.

Governors effectively have two choices when filling Senate vacancies: appoint a caretaker to keep the seat warm until the next election before they bow out for the victor or use the appointment to help boost the chances of an up-and-coming politician.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) appointed a caretaker in state Attorney General Jeff Chiesa to fill the seat of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg in 2013, with Chiesa promising not to run for reelection. Sen. Corey Booker (D) ultimately won the seat’s special election four months later.

But a long list of current senators got their starts from a gubernatorial appointment, according to the Senate Historical Office.

Republican Sens. Dan Coats (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), John Barrasso (Wyo.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Dean Heller (Nev.) and Tim Scott (S.C.) all won reelection after their appointment to the Senate, as did Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez (N.J.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), and Brian Schatz (Hawaii).