Jamie Radtke, who resigned as Chairman of the Virginia Federation of Tea Party Patriots earlier this year has announced that she will seek the Republican nomination for US Senate.
Radtke’s announcement makes her the first official candidate to seek the GOP nomination for US Senate. For those not paying attention, the Republican Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee overwhelmingly selected a Primary earlier this year at the RPV Advance.
This race is certainly going to be interesting as candidates develop over the next several months. With the likelihood that former Senator George Allen and Delegate Bob Marshall are going to get in the race, and the possibility of Prince William County Chairman Corey Stewart throwing his hat in the ring, this race will certainly be one to watch.
Our good friend at Mason Conservative, Chris Beer wrote an excellent post earlier today that was picked up by politico.com (congratulations, Chris) with a simple yet unanswered question: Is Jamie ready? I was surprised by her comments to the Wall Street Journal (here) where she seemed indicate that Congress voted to cut taxes, and in turn, added to the national debt. However, the compromise negotiated by Congressional leaders and the President was not a tax cut, it was simply an extension of the current tax rates.
While Ms. Radtke has proven an effective organizer of the TEA Party, she is going to have to do a lot more if she intends to convince Republican Primary voters she has what it takes to win in 2012. She has never been tested as a candidate, her fund raising ability is unknown and no one knows where she stands on the issues.
In any event her announcement certainly changes the dynamics for an ever growing Republican field.
I’d guess Allen now wants Marshall or Steward to get into the race. Based on the evidence of 2010, an upset would not be out of the question if he has to face the Tea Party lady one-on-one in a primary.
2012 could be a whole different year. Yes, the TP proved they could change the outcome of Republican Primary’s but failed big time in the General with the loss of Ken Buck and Joe Miller.
I doubt George Allen would have a problem even if it is one-on-one, which I doubt it will be.