Larry Sabato has a fresh edition of his Crystal Ball out on the Center for Politics web site. He handicaps the Democratic presidential field for 2008. Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John Kerry, and former Sen. John Edwards constitute the top contenders. Gov. Mark Warner is high on Sabato’s second tier of potential candidates, just behind Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh. Here’s what the good professor has to say about Warner:
Mark Warner has a solid record as governor, a Southern address (always attractive to Democrats who remember that only Southerners Carter and Clinton have won since 1968), and a fortune often estimated at $200 million. Yet he is just a one-term state executive, prevented by Virginia’s constitution from running again, and he has never held any other elective office. Out of office in early 2006, Warner will have to struggle to stay relevant in the years leading up to 2008. A successful challenge to Republican Senator George Allen in 2006 would achieve that, but Warner appears disinclined to take the chance of losing and being eliminated from the White House sweepstakes.
Sabato will do a similar handicapping of the Republican field next and we’ll see how he rates Sen. Allen’s chances.
