Parkinson set to seek GOP nomination to face Tim Kaine in November

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Scott Parkinson, a former congressional staffer and adviser to Ron DeSantis and other Republican officials, announced plans Monday to seek the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia next year.

Parkinson, who works for the conservative economic policy group Club for Growth, told The Associated Press ahead of a formal announcement that frustration over pandemic-related school and business closures “changed his worldview” and pushed him to seek public office for the first time.

Parkinson said that Kaine, a fixture in Virginia politics, is vulnerable because of his votes for key pieces of President Joe Biden’s agenda that have contributed to inflation now crushing the middle class.

“I think that there’s this perception that he’s a nice guy … and they don’t peel back the layers of the onion to see exactly how we got to where we are today,” Parkinson said. “And Tim Kaine has voted for all of it.”

Kaine, originally from Kansas, was Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate in 2016 and has been in public office for nearly three decades, serving as Richmond’s mayor and later as the state’s lieutenant governor and governor. He was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and handily defeated a Republican challenger in 2018.

So far, no Democratic opponent has emerged to challenge Kaine, who firmed up his plans to seek a third term in January after speculation he might retire.