Democrashield.com

Surprising news out of Virginia:

U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said today he will retire from Congress at the end of the year, bringing to a close a 14-year stint in the House of Representatives during which he rose rapidly through the ranks of Republican leadership and championed such issues as D.C. voting rights and a vibrant defense-contracting industry.

“It’s time for me to take a sabbatical,” Davis said. “I would say I’m not ruling out future public service, but it’s time to be refreshed, to see what it’s like in the private sector. That doesn’t mean I will or won’t come back.”

Davis, 59, a self-described political wonk and former Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman who has wanted to serve in Congress since childhood, said the decision was remarkably difficult. He said that even as some media outlets were reporting this week that he would retire, he had not made up his mind.

“Jeannemarie and I were still chewing on this last night,” he said. He noted that he has had multiple conversations with employers and expects the opportunities for private work to be rich and rewarding. Davis said he plans to fill out his term and to stay in the area after stepping down.

Davis’s career in Congress has come to a close with great swiftness, underscoring how uncertain political life can be. Just a few months ago, he was viewed as a natural contender to replace U.S. Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), who also retires at the end of this year. But a series of events pushed Davis to withdraw from consideration and then, this week, to leave elective office altogether.

There’s one reason Tom Davis is retiring: The Virginia Republican Party.

Davis has been positioning himself to run for the Senate for a long time–he built a strong and mostly-moderate record, not a hard task for a Republican Congressman representing liberal Northern Virginia.  In addition, he has been raising tons of money–Davis has more than $1 million in his war chest, despite the fact that he’s popular and would likely have been re-elected handily. Davis’ Senatorial aspirations were pretty clear.

After waiting patiently for years, Davis finally had a crack at the senate when longtime Republican Senator John Warner announced his retirement in 2007.  Davis was fully prepared for the primary, ready to duke it out with former Virginia Governor and failed GOP Presidential candidate Jim Gilmore (who was also running).

Unfortunately for Davis, the VA GOP stepped in and decided to choose the nominee themselves instead of holding a primary–they picked Gilmore, leaving Davis with no way to become the GOP nominee.  Thus, his longtime dream of running for Senate was killed before it even began, snubbed by the party he served for so long.

Being in Northern Virginia, Davis’ district is pretty liberal–Kerry won 49% and Bush won 50% in 2004, and Davis’ was re-elected by only 55% in 2006.  There’s a chance that the Democratic candidate will have a good shot at winning this one.  The Politico has a list of the candidates currently running for this seat:

Former Rep. Leslie Byrne and retired Naval officer Doug Denneny have also announced their candidacies on the Democratic side.

Businessman Keith Fimian is a leading candidate on the Republican side; he has already raised over $350,000 in individual donation over the past six months.

Davis’ retirement is a testament to Republican ineptitude and the conservative disdain for democracy.  And now that we have an opening, we’re going to have to work hard to win this newly-open Congressional seat.