Mark Warner declines to run for Virginia governor

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner announced on Tuesday that he will not be a candidate for governor in 2013.

"I loved being governor, but I have a different job now—and it's here in the United States Senate," Warner, who served as governor from 2002 to 2006, said in a widely reported statement.

In Virginia, governors cannot serve consecutive terms and Warner had been courted to seek the 2013 Democratic nomination.

Former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and unsuccessful 2009 nominee Terry McAuliffe announced on Nov. 9 plans to run for the governorship. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli are currently competing for the Republican nomination.