Could be the case, but I think back to those scenes being juxtaposed with Underwood playing chess with himself: almost as if he had thought everything out well in advance.
I interpreted that as an indicator that he had elaborately planned to sink Russo's campaign from the beginning and set into motion a chain of events that would catapult him (Underwood) to the vice presidency. Why else would he advocate for a super-flawed candidate like Russo for governor in the first place? Yes, he owed Russo for closing the naval shipyard, but Underwood was not going to stamp his name on a risky candidate if there wasn't an eventual huge payoff for himself.
Having an ally in the governorship of a key swing state is a huge payoff only if you think an obscure congressman from South Carolina was eventually going to run for president. However, becoming vice president now is a bigger payoff.

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