Published November 11, 2004, in issue 0345 of the Hook

CHRIS GRAHAM

George Allen's name is showing up on various lists of early favorites for the 2008 Republican Party presidential nomination.

A note of interest there is that the Virginia senator isn't dismissing talk that he might be thinking about making a run for the White House four years hence.

"You never want to say never in politics," Allen told WVPT's Virginia Tonight program two nights after the election.

"It's flattering that people suggest that I should run for president. But right now, my focus is on serving the people of Virginia to the very best of my ability," Allen said.

Son of the late Washington Redskins coach George Allen, Allen served as governor of the Old Dominion from 1994 to 1998.

His election in 1993 after a hotly contested race with two-term Democratic attorney general Mary Sue Terry was heralded as the start of the GOP revolution in politics in the Commonwealth.

In 2000, Allen upset popular Democratic Party stalwart Chuck Robb, himself once considered a possible presidential contender, for Virginia's junior U.S. Senate seat.

Allen, who represented the Charlottesville area in the House of Delegates for nearly a decade before winning a Congressional seat in 1991, said that he is "focused on doing the job that I was elected to do.

"I'm just happy that this decision by the American people is keeping George Bush as president for the next four years," Allen said. "We had such a big turnout this past year in this past election because people realize that this was a significant election.

"Decisions made in the midst of war have profound consequences for our lives and our nation's future. I'm happy we're going to have more Republican senators working on a positive and constructive agenda. And I'm glad we have President Bush," Allen said.

Allen said he is planning to run for re-election to his Senate seat in 2006-- when he could face a challenge from another popular Democrat, Governor Mark Warner.

"I'm not going to get into speculation about how any of this would help or hurt one way or the other as far as running for president in the future. Leave that to the political scientists and the political experts. My concern is Virginia first," Allen said.

"I just hope to get re-elected," he added.

George Allen
FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

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