George Allen Running for Old Senate Seat

Tea Party, Dems greet announcement with derision
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 24, 2011 5:39 PM CST
George Allen Running for Old Senate Seat
In this Feb. 2, 2010 file photo, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.   (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)

George Allen lost his Virginia Senate seat and his presidential aspirations in 2006 to a no-name in combat boots, and he's decided he'd like one or both back. Allen, a former governor narrowly ousted by Jim Webb after his infamous "macaca" moment was picked up on tape, announced today that he'll run for Webb's seat in 2012. “Friends, it’s time for an American comeback," he said in a message on his website, adding that 2012 would decide whether "the American dream will continue to decline or begin to ascend again."

Tea Partier Jamie Radtke, who's also in the race, denounced Allen as "part of the Washington establishment," a sentiment echoed by Democrats. "Allen spent his years in Washington shilling for corporate interests, wildly spending taxpayer dollars, and racking up our national debt," a DSCC rep tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch. One potential candidate who hasn't decided to run? Jim Webb, who says he'll make the call this quarter. (More George Allen stories.)

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