Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is up for re-election next year, and a new PAC has decided that Newt Gingrich is the man to take him on.
The Draft Newt PAC was formed with the intention of drafting the former speaker of the House, one-time presidential candidate, and current co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire” to run for Senate. They have started a petition to get people to sign on to the effort.
“We want a credible challenger to Mark Warner, and no one could do what Newt could do to fight – and win. U.S. Senator Newt Gingrich would be an immediate game changer, giving conservatives another voice that would take the fight to the Obama administration,” said Andrew Hemingway, who served as Gingrich’s New Hampshire state director and national director of digital fundraising during his 2012 bid for the presidency.
Gingrich, who represented a district in Georgia when he served in the House, has already ruled out a bid for Senate in his former home state.
“With his history of support for far-reaching government reforms and fiscal sanity – for actually balancing the budget – Newt Gingrich was Tea Party before there was a tea party,” said Dan Backer, the treasurer of the effort. “No one can better articulate the values of millions of Virginians seeking an end to government overreach, the repeal of Obamacare and tax relief for hardworking Americans. And, Newt is one of the few potential candidates who can unite tea party conservatives and establishment Republicans behind a winning ticket.”
UPDATE: Gingrich Productions disavowed the PAC in a statement provided to The Daily Caller, saying that Gingrich would not be running for Senate.
“Newt Gingrich is a new host of CNN’s Crossfire. He is not running for U.S. Senate and will not run for Senate at any time in the future. For this reason, the Speaker encourages supporters to ignore solicitations from this new group,” the statement says.