A Republican state senator in Virginia who has run a health-care company tells The Daily Caller he is mulling the possibility of running for the Senate in 2014.
Virginia state Sen. Jeffrey McWaters, the founder and former CEO of health-care company AMERIGROUP, said he has been encouraged to take a look at entering the race to challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Warner.
Reached by phone Monday, McWaters said, “I’ve taken a look at it like most politicians do from time to time. I would like to see a strong Republican run. Mark is very popular, though. He’s a very likable guy. But some of the policies he’s supported haven’t been.”
McWaters has been urged to run by John Fredericks, a syndicated morning radio talk show host in Virginia. “Who better to take on Warner on the issue of Obamacare than McWaters – an entrepreneur who built one of the most successful health care companies in America?” Fredericks wrote on his website.
“As tough as it will be to unseat a very powerful Mark Warner, his primary vulnerability is the fact that he cast the tie-breaking vote that foisted Obamacare on Virginians and the nation,” Fredericks added.
The 2014 Senate race will be an uphill battle for Republicans. A Public Policy Polling poll this summer of hypothetical match ups indicated that Warner holds double-digit leads over numerous possible GOP opponents.
President Barack Obama’s health-care law is expected to play a starring role in the 2014 elections, though McWaters said that’s not the only reason he would run. “While I think that the president’s health care plan is an exceeding disaster, I think there are a lot of other issues that the Senate has not dealt with effectively.”