CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Virginia Rep. Tom Davis is taking the reins of the Republican Main Street Partnership, an organization that preaches a centrist GOP political philosophy and is often at odds with social conservatives.

The former Virginia congressman faces a difficult task in helping to rebuild the GOP, which suffered devastating losses in the Senate and House in the 2008 elections. Davis even watched his own seat, situated in the Washington, DC suburbs of Northern Virginia, turn Democratic. Centrist Republicans also saw a prominent spokesman, Connecticut Rep. Chris Shays, lose his seat in November.

“The 2006 and 2008 election results make it clear that the Republican Party must - once again -– reach out to independent and centrist voters if we are to restore our Congressional majorities and return a Republican to the White House,” Davis said in a statement released by the Republican Main Street Partnership.

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Davis announced Thursday he will not run for retiring Virginia Sen. John Warner's seat.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rep. Tom Davis said Thursday he will not run for the open Senate seat in Virginia next year.

The Republican congressman from Northern Virginia had been considering a bid to succeed his friend, retiring Sen. John Warner, who announced this summer that he would not run for re-election in 2008.

With Davis out, the race to succeed Warner appears to be a battle of two former Virginia governors, Democrat Mark Warner, no relation, and Republican Jim Gilmore.

Warner announced his intentions last month and has raised over a million dollars. He is still very popular with Virginia voters and early polling puts him ahead of Gilmore in a potential head to head match up. National Democrats are betting Warner can win back the Republican held seat and help the party expand its current slim 51 to 49 majority in the Senate.

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