Feb. 9-Los Angeles Times-WASHINGTON — In another blow to Democrats' chances of retaining the Senate beyond 2012, first-term Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) announced Wednesday he would not seek reelection.

News Source: The Los Angeles Times, Feb. 9, 2011 www.latimes.com "It has been a great and continuing privilege to serve in the United States Senate. … However, after much thought and consideration I have decided to return to the private sector, where I have spent most of my professional life," he said in a statement. Webb notes in his statement that when he first announced his candidacy in 2006, he had "neither campaign funds nor a staff." At the time, he was seeking to challenge Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen, the state's former governor, who at the time was thought to be a major contender for the GOP's presidential nomination in 2008. Webb narrowly defeated Allen that November, an outcome many attributed to Allen's so-called macaca moment, referring to his use of an obscure racial slur to describe a Webb staffer who trailed him in the race.