This Year's Ross Perot in Virginia?

Today's Washington Times reports that moderate Republican State Senator H. Russell Potts, Jr. has opened an exploratory committee and is seriously considering a run for Virginia governor. According to the Times, Potts may run either as a Republican against Jerry Kill-more (aka Kilgore) and George "Cool Runnings" Fitch in the June primary, and/or as an Independent candidate in November. Either way, this could badly hurt Kill-more.

The big question is, will Russ Potts do for Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine in 2005 what Ross Perot did for Bill Clinton against "Bush 41" in 1992?  Or is the more apt analogy for Virginia the 1994 Oliver North/Chuck Robb/Marshall Coleman race, in which moderate Republican (backed by Senator John -- not Mark! -- Warner) Marshall Coleman, running as an Independent, helped Democrat Chuck Robb squeak to victory over Oliver "Iran-Contra" North?

Either way, the plot here in Virginia thickens.  For more, see the RaisingKaine blog.