Kaine on 2012 Senate race: ‘It’s a challenge’

RICHMOND, Va. — Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine told Virginia
Democrats on Saturday night that he’s “reflecting” on a potential 2012
Senate run and plans to make an official decision “soon.”

Kaine thanked those who have encouraged him to jump into the race for
the seat of retiring Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), calling it “gratifying to
see so many people who understand that the race is important.”

{mosads}Speaking to a crowd of nearly 1,500 Democratic activists at the state
party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner, Kaine said a
Senate run is something he’s still wrestling with and talked up his
current job as national party chairman.

“I have a job that I absolutely love,” said Kaine. “I get to travel
this country on behalf of the president, advocating for the values I believe in … I was completely focused on doing that all the way
through 2012.”

Despite the encouragement of several members of the state’s
congressional delegation over the course of the night and shouts from
activists in the crowd, Kaine called the opportunity to run for
Senate “a challenge, too.”

Kaine, who met with President Obama earlier this week to talk about
the Senate race, didn’t say whether or not the president urged him to
run, but Kaine joked that he pitched the president on his value as DNC
Chairman.

Kaine said he reminded Obama, “you just don’t have a lot of white
southern governors out stumping for you nonstop in English and
Spanish. That’s not your power demographic.”

Kaine added: “I love the ability to do that.”

His remarks came after Virginia Democrats spent the previous hour
clamoring for him to launch a Senate bid next year. By the time Kaine
spoke Saturday night, several members of the state’s congressional
delegation had already taken the stage and urged him to run.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) launched into an impassioned appeal for a
Kaine Senate bid Saturday, calling him “a public servant in the truest
sense of the word” and someone who has been “proud to stand with
President Obama on healthcare reform.”

In a pre-taped video message, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said, “It is my
hope that my friend of 30 years, the great 70th governor of Virginia,
Tim Kaine, decides to run for the Senate. We urge you to take that
step.”

Kaine had a front row seat as Democrat after Democrat hyped his
potential candidacy. He met the encouragement with a smile from his
seat near the front of the stage.

“So, not enough arm-twisting, I guess?” Kaine asked with a laugh as he
began his speech.

With Webb’s retirement, Kaine is widely seen as the best chance for
Democrats to hold the Senate seat next year in the face of a run by
former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.).

Should Kaine decide not to run, Democrats would likely turn to former
Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), who was also in attendance Saturday night.
Before Kaine’s speech, Perriello told The Hill, “I certainly hope Tim
Kaine runs.”

Should Kaine decide against it, Perriello said he would “seriously
consider” a run of his own.

Perriello supporters were out in abundance before the start of
Saturday’s dinner, gathering signatures for a “Draft Perriello”
petition. The former congressman, who lost his 2010 reelection bid,
called the draft effort “flattering.”

State Democratic Party Chairman Brian Moran also praised Kaine’s term
as governor and took a shot at Allen’s run for his former Senate seat,
saying, “Republicans want to nominate a candidate for the Senate who
spent six years there running for president and complaining about how
bored he was.”