When former Virginia Governor Mark Warner announced last month he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, he left not only a hoard of disappointed supporters eager for somebody other than Hillary Clinton, but also roughly $9.8 million in political contributions. Those contributions to Forward Together, his Alexandria-based political action committee (PAC), were compiled mainly for Warner’s presidential exploratory efforts, with millions paying for public opinion polling, travel, catering at speaking events and staff payroll (though $1.45 million did end up in Democrat party coffers for this year’s midterm elections).
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Now that he’s passed on a 2008 run, will Warner and Forward Together continue going, um, forward together? Warner will determine the PAC’s fate in the next several weeks, says Ellen Qualls, the group’s communications director. She says the 35-member staff is likely to be whittled down in the coming weeks and some of the remaining $2.4 million will be earmarked to support “like-minded candidates” in the Democratic Party in the coming year. One thing’s for certain, though: With no clear leadership objective, there’s less urgency to roll out new ideas or programs.
“He will be narrowing down a series of options for himself and what role the PAC will play,” Qualls says. Those options include a second run for governor in 2009 (something bloggers won’t stop chatting about) or even a U.S. Senate bid in 2008, when Republican John Warner’s term expires.
Mark Warner’s PAC donated $5,000 to newly elected Senator Jim Webb and $22,000 in total for Virginia’s Jim Moran, Rick Boucher, Phil Kellam and Robert C. Scott in their bids for the U.S. House, according to the Federal Election Commission. He also added $25,000 to the Commonwealth Coalition’s now-failed campaign against the Virginia marriage amendment.
