Ed Gillespie, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, announced Thursday that he plans to challenge Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner in the November election.
"I'm running for Senate because the American dream is being undermined by policies that move us way from constitutional principles of limited government and personal liberty," Gillespie said in a video statement on YouTube.
Story continues below video.
Gillespie, a former adviser to the 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, criticized Warner for supporting Obamacare, maintaining that it "kills jobs and costs families the insurance and doctors they like."
"Sen. Warner cast the deciding vote" for the healthcare law, Gillespie said, adding, "If I were a Virginia senator, it would not be law today."
Gillespie, a former political operative and White House aide, had been serving as chairman of the Republican State Legislative Committee before he declared his Senate bid.
The
Democrats were quick to respond to his announcement, according to Roll Call.
Matt Canter, deputy executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, released a statement saying, "The truth is that Mark Warner is recognized by both Democrats and Republicans as a leader in the Senate in working across party lines to achieve common sense solutions, and Virginians won't be fooled by the negative campaign of Gillespie and his special interest allies."
In the YouTube video, Gillespie introduced his family and talked about how he has worked his way up from
his start in politics as a parking attendant at the Senate while going to college.
"Over the years, with lots of people's help and advice, I rose from that parking lot to the West Wing, serving as counselor to the president of the United States," he said.
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