PoliticalDerby.com

John Warner will (thankfully) not seek reelection to the Senate. This opens the door for what could be an epic Mark Warner vs. George Allen showdown. Will the macaca come out of hibernation or is he buried for good? Sound off in comments below.

UPDATE: Rep. Tom Davis is going to jump in the race. It should be interesting to see how this moderate fairs in the battle for nomination. He’s a good fit for northern VA, but isn’t nearly conservative enough for most of Virginia’s GOPers.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Rep. Tom Davis appears to be the first person to throw his hat into the ring in the battle to succeed retiring Sen. John Warner of Virginia. A congressional source close to Davis told CNN Radio’s Lisa Goddard that, “Tom’s running. He didn’t want to say more today because it’s the senator’s day.”

The source reached out to CNN just one hour after Warner announced that he won’t run for re-election in 2008. Davis, a moderate Republican from Northern Virginia, has long eyed succeeding Warner. But Davis could most likely face serious competition from a more conservative candidate. One possibility is former Gov. Jim Gilmore, who gave up his bid for the White House last month.