Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) has decided not to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) next year. The Post is reporting that Davis will announce formally on Thursday what his plans are, but sources have indicated that he won’t look to take on a number of potential Republican contenders or former Governor Mark Warner for the seat. Davis reportedly doesn’t want his run to overshadow a tough re-election contest faced by his wife, Jeanmarie Devolites Davis, who is a state senator.

Davis’ decision is probably for the best. His wife’s race notwithstanding, Davis wasn’t polling very well against either fellow Republican Jim Gilmore or Warner — in a contest against Warner, Davis would go down 57 percent to 30 percent — and he wasn’t all that well known outside of Northern Virginia. Also, a recent decision by the Virginia Republican Party to choose their candidate via convention rather than a primary meant that the more conservative Gilmore might benefit.

While we’ve long been fans of Davis — if mostly for his consistent advocacy on behalf of District voting rights — this seems to a wise call on his part. It is an unfortunate loss for the Republicans, though, because his brand of moderate conservatism has proven to be more the rule than the exception in a Virginia that is slowly becoming less solidly red.

Davis has not yet announced whether he will seek another term for his House seat, adding another level of suspense to the state’s politics.