While Hillary Clinton will take the stage Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, the man who will deliver the Tuesday keynote address was once considered a possible presidential candidate himself.

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner will deliver his speech in prime time before Clinton. Warner served as governor of Virginia from 2002 until January 2006.

Don’t expect overly aggressive attacks on the Republicans from Warner Tuesday night. "They knew when I started this that it wasn't going to be a hard-core, red-meat speech. If they want that, I'm not their guy," Warner, quoted on washingtonpost.com, said of his expected 15-minute speech.

Nearly three years ago, Warner was considered a likely contender against Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination this year. But as other candidates including Barack Obama entered the race, Warner decided not to join the national fight. Instead, he decided to seek a U.S. Senate seat. Warner is in a battle for a seat in Congress against Republican Jim Gilmore.

Warner’s selection to deliver the keynote address is considered support for his own success in the Democratic Party as well as the importance of Virginia in this presidential race. If voters in Virginia cast more ballots for Obama than John McCain, the state will deliver its 13 Electoral College votes to the Democratic Party for the first time since the 1960s.

Warner must only look at the last DNC keynote speaker to see how political fortunes may grow. In 2004, many wondered what the future held for Obama. Four years later, the Democrats gather in Denver to nominate him as their presidential candidate.

"Tonight, if you feel the same energy I do, the same urgency I do, the same passion I do, the same hopefulness I do -- if we do what we must do, then I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November," Obama said in 2004.

Four years later, Obama easily won Virginia in the Democratic primary. However, he faces a tougher battle with McCain for a November victory in Virginia. Polls of likely voters show Obama and McCain in a dead heat.