Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore Tuesday told the Richmond Times-Dispatch he plans to seek the Republican presidential nomination.
Gilmore said in interview he plans to make his bid official in the first week in August. Republicans plan their first presidential debate August 6, and only the top 10 in national polls will qualify. The barely-known Gilmore is unlikely to be among them. Those who do not qualify can participate in a forum earlier in the day.
Gilmore tried running for president once before, seeking the 2008 nomination, but was only briefly in the race, unable to get much support. He was crushed in a 2008 U.S. Senate bid by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. Gilmore is now president of the Free Congress Foundation, a conservative research group.
Gilmore told the Times-Dispatch “I bring to the table experience that others don’t have.” He was Virginia’s governor from 1998 to 2002, and national Republican Party chairman in 2001. He’s a former U.S. Army intelligence officer who headed the Gilmore Commission, which advised Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton on .domestic capabilities for terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
Gilmore will be the 17th major Republican to seek the presidency. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is expected to announce his plans Monday, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Tuesday he’ll have an announcement July 21.
David Lightman: 202-383-6101, @lightmandavid