Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia) 2002-

He was fairly successful as governor in a rather hostile environment and is now running for President.

I may be a strong Republican, but I would seriously consider voting for Warner if he ever ran for president. One magazine ranked Virginia as the best governed state in the nation. He has fixed the budget, education and other programs that lacked funding. He would be a perfect fit in the White House, with the huge deficit we currently have. If the Democrats have half a brain (most don't seem to), they would nominate him for president.

Warner takes his job as Governor very seriously, and is devoted to it. This explains his popularity- he is constantly traveling the state and meeting people. This particularly impresses people because he is constitutionally barred from running for another term next year. However, Warner has really failed to accomplish anything of substance since becoming Governor, other than the huge tax increased he approved this summer. His first two years in office, he acted sensibly to fix the budget mess he inherited from his predecessor. Fiscally unsustainable tax cuts enacted under Gov. Gilmore created a huge budget deficit, and Warner worked with the legislature to close the gap between spending and revenue. However, this year he went out on the stump and told voters and the legislature that to fully balance the budget, tax reform measures had to be adopted. These included raising taxes on wealthier Virginians, increasing the sales tax by a penny, and closing corporate loophoples. In exchange, ... Read more

Not always the most astute politician and he can be wishy washy. However, he deserves a great deal of credit for fixing VA's finances, and he has managed to work fairly well with the Republicans.