Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) will keynote the New Hampshire Democratic Party's annual 100 Club dinner on Feb. 10 in Manchester."Mark Warner is one of the few governors in the country with home-state support as strong as our own governor, John Lynch, and we look forward to hearing from him about his tenure in office and his vision for our country," said party Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan.
Warner, who has made little secret of his interest in national office, traveled to the Granite State late last month and received largely positive reviews. Sullivan said Warner "sparked some real interest on his trip here last month." (If you missed it the first time around, make sure to read Mark Leibovich's spot-on profile of Warner written during that trip.)
As Warner prepares to leave the governor's mansion in January, his travel schedule has begun to reflect his national ambitions. He visited South Carolina and Florida this month and also held a massive fundraiser for his Forward Together leadership political action committee. That event, at the Tysons Corner Ritz Carlton in Northern Virginia, raised between $2.5 and $4 million for Forward Together.
Warner must work hard now to build momentum for the 2008 race. He will have no day job starting in January and is the current "it" boy among the media and donor community. He (and his cracker-jack staff) seems to sense that he can't let the opportunity pass by.