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You are here: Home / 2014 Campaign / How Mark Warner Almost Got Beat

How Mark Warner Almost Got Beat

November 5, 2014 at 12:23 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

National Journal: “When Gillespie – previously a lobbyist, Republican National Committee chair and Bush White House aide – entered the race at the start of 2014, few observers gave him much chance to win. He was positioned to be the GOP’s sacrificial lamb, and even as the race tightened in the closing weeks, many Republicans still figured Gillespie had a better shot at the governorship in 2017 than the Senate in 2014.”

“But Gillespie sensed from the start that this year’s climate would favor Republicans, and he pounded Warner incessantly as an alleged Obama clone who voted with the president nearly all the time in the Senate. Recognizing that Warner’s stint in the governor’s mansion was still fondly remembered by most Virginians, Gillespie and his fellow Republicans claimed repeatedly that ‘Governor Warner wouldn’t recognize Senator Warner today.'”

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Filed Under: 2014 Campaign Tagged With: Mark Warner, VA-Sen

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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