Trump supporter who lost tight Va. governor primary weighs Senate run

Corey Stewart, an outspoken supporter of President Trump who lost a surprisingly close race Tuesday in the GOP primary for Virginia governor, is considering running against Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in 2018, according to The Washington Post. 

Stewart, a former co-chairman of President Trump’s Virginia campaign and the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, came within a little more than 1 point of upsetting GOP front-runner Ed Gillespie. 

Now Stewart, who has been a vocal defender of statues related to the Confederacy, is eyeing a potential Senate bid against Kaine.

{mosads}”Kaine is vulnerable,” Stewart said in an interview with the Post, adding that he’s going to take “a few weeks, a couple months maybe” to consider a Senate campaign. 

“I’ve got to take a breather and take stock. If I announced I was running for another office right now, it would be a headline in The Washington Post: ‘Stewart clobbered by Confederate wife.’ “

Polls for the Virginia gubernatorial primaries had Stewart way behind Gillespie. Stewart has been a fierce supporter for Trump and has drawn headlines for opposing the removal of Confederate monuments.

So far, Kaine hasn’t drawn any Republican challengers. Several other names have been floated for the race, though, including former GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and conservative radio host Laura Ingraham. 

Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), who has her own tough reelection in 2018, has also been floated as a possible challenger.

But it’ll be a tough feat for any Republican looking to unseat Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016. Clinton won Virginia last year by a larger margin than former President Barack Obama, and Kaine has been a prominent fixture in state politics. He’s a former governor and mayor of Richmond.