George Allen,  Jim Webb

VA-Sen: Does Lackluster Fundraising Say Sen. Jim Webb is Out?

061027georgeallenandjim VA Sen Poll Watch: Jim Webb 49% Vs. George Allen 45%

Former Virginia Senator George Allen and Senator Jim Webb

Virginia is not a small state and Senator Jim Webb’s fundraising has been poor. Is it because he is NOT running for re-election?

It’s a natural and defensible impulse to try to draw conclusions about Virginia Sen. Jim Webb’s lackluster fundraising quarter.

Reports by The Hill and then USA Today that the Marine only raised $12,000 during the final three months of the year immediately lead to the conclusion that Webb is less likely to pursue a second term.

But there might not be a senator’s financial report that’s less instructive than Jim Webb’s.

It’s no secret he doesn’t enjoy the game of politics, let alone the unseemly and draining process of raising money.  And if those who claim to know him best are being forthright, it’s just as possible that Webb wants to truly settle on a decision before he slugs through dialing for dollars in a secluded, colorless room at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Webb enters 2011 with just $440,000 on hand.  To put things in perspective, while that number will undoubtedly fall on the low end of the fundraising spectrum, it’s not significantly less than some of his colleagues, like Sen. Jon Tester and Sen. Jeff Bingaman.

Yes, those are smaller, cheaper states.  But to be sure, Webb isn’t really even trying yet.

Looks to me that Webb lacks the “fire in his belly” to run against George Allen again – especially with 2012 expected not to be as good for Democrats as 2006 when President George W. Bush was under seige from the Iraq War.

But, if Webb decides to run, it will be a tough campaign in a rematch with George Allen.