Over the past two weeks, the committee blasted out what it called Kaine’s “Top 5 cheerleading moments,” tying him to the Obama administration’s key legislative initiatives and putting a spotlight on his comments about the ongoing budget battle in Wisconsin and the role of the DNC in helping organize protestors in the state.
“That’s an awful lot of trouble for someone not even in the race,” a Democratic Party official responded Tuesday. “I know they’re going to have a bloody primary with deeply flawed candidates, but you’d think they’d be better at hiding how worried they are about it.”
Virginia Democrats see Kaine as their best chance to hold on to Webb’s seat and have been pressuring the former governor to jump in the race. But Kaine appears torn on a Senate run and those close to the DNC chairman say he’s been wrestling with the prospect of getting into the race for the past couple of weeks.
Kaine is expected to make an official decision on a Senate run within days, telling Democrats he will make his intentions known by early March.
Should he decide to make a run, his entry would make next year’s Senate contest in Virginia one of 2012’s marquee match-ups, likely pitting Kaine against another popular former Virginia governor, George Allen (R).
Updated 10:51 a.m.