“I have no intention of running for office again,” Virginia’s former governor and U.S. senator said in interviews with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Virginian-Pilot, and the News Virginian.
In the interviews Monday, less than a week after he lost his bid to reclaim his Senate seat, Allen added that he and his wife Susan “put our heart and soul into this campaign.”
The former state lawmaker and U.S. congressman won Virginia’s gubernatorial office in 1993 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. But he lost a razor thin re-election bid in 2006 to Democrat Jim Webb, who retired this year rather than run for a second term. This cycle Allen faced off in a high profile and expensive Senate race against former Gov. Tim Kaine. Allen lost to Kaine by six points in last week’s election.
“I was disappointed to learn that George Allen will not seek political office again. I’ve had the honor of knowing George for two decades now. He is a great friend. And I sincerely hope, as George exits from political life, that all Virginians will remember the incredible service he has given to our Commonwealth,” said Virginia’s current governor, Bob McDonnell, in a statement Tuesday.
