Va. Republicans Fear Party Split Might Worsen

Officials Cite the Defeat Of 2 Moderate Senators

Virginia Republicans said yesterday that the defeat of two moderate GOP state senators by conservatives could further divide the two wings of the party, which could affect the direction of state government.

The losses might signal a new, more conservative Republican caucus in the Senate that might mirror the House of Delegates more closely, party officials said.

Still, party leaders said, conservatives fell short of their goal of taking over the Republican caucus. Although two moderate senators lost, two survived. Several GOP senators said yesterday that they will continue to work with Democrats on major issues. Even so, the election results hold what could be troubling signs for the party as it heads into the fall general election campaign and the 2008 presidential contest: Virginia Republicans appear to be in a funk.

"We had a terrible time getting known [Republican] supporters to go vote," said J. Scott Leake, a GOP strategist who worked to reelect several of his party's moderate senators.

Yesterday, the GOP lost its chairman, Ed Gillespie, who was brought in eight months ago in part to try to heal the division. Gillespie was named counselor to President Bush.

Party strategists said they were trying to determine how a grass-roots network of conservatives unseated Sen. Martin E. Williams (Newport News), chairman of the influential transportation committee, and J. Brandon Bell II (Roanoke).

It was the first time in at least a decade that two senators were defeated in a party primary.

In the days leading up to the primary, party strategists had expected that Majority Leader Walter A. Stosch (R-Henrico), a moderate who supported several recent tax increases, would easily defeat conservative Joe Blackburn.

But Stosch, who spent nearly $1 million compared with $250,000 by Blackburn, eked out a victory of only 262 votes, or less than 1 percent.

"We identified and knew who are voters are, but at 2 p.m. we were woefully short of what we expected our favorable turnout would be of the people I knew who were for us," Leake said of Tuesday.

Conservatives, meanwhile, appeared eager to vote against the moderates, who have worked with two successive Democratic governors to try to raise taxes.

Some attributed Bell's loss to his support for a statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants and his backing of recent tax increases.