Another Safe Seat

As expected, Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) has decided not to challenge Sen. George Allen. Warner is widely rumored to be considering a 2008 Presidential bid, and though he had the lead in recent polls, Allen remains a fairly popular incumbent in a Republican state, making an unnecessary Senate bid extremely risky. Warner's decision clears the way for an Allen cake walk. The Democrats' bench is thin, and Warner was the only Democrat with a serious chance to challenge Allen. Sen. Chuck Schumer really Doled this seat. For those of you keeping score at home, this decision brings the total number of safe Republican seats to eight (including RINO Olympia Snowe) and the total number of overall safe seats to seventeen. The already small 2006 Senate map continues to shrink.