Former Va. Governors Come Out Swinging

In December, Gilmore told legislators that the incoming governor, -- Warner -- would face a shortfall of about $3 billion over three years.

Warner, who took office the next month, cut state spending by eliminating hundreds of positions, consolidating some agencies and scaling back social-service funding.

But some Republicans say Warner could have done more to control spending, including embracing the findings of a 2002 commission headed by another former governor, Democrat L. Douglas Wilder, that found $1.3 billion in potential savings.

"He showed no interest in dealing with those tough spending issues where we could have eliminated some unnecessary programs," said Patrick McSweeney, a former state Republican Party chairman.

In 2004, Warner won bipartisan support for a $1.4 billion tax increase over two years that allowed him to boost spending on education, health care and public safety.

Hall said the tax increase was needed to "meet basic commitments."

Republicans counter that Virginia's economy was already on the rebound, making the tax increase unnecessary. They point to a $1 billion budget surplus at the end of 2004.

"He raises taxes by $1 billion only to have everyone find out a few months later -- whoops, we have money," Forbes said. "I don't call that fiscal conservatism or good fiscal stewardship."

Hall replied that the GOP is shortsighted and that the tax increase was designed "to look beyond a two-year budget cycle."

In 2005, Governing Magazine said Virginia was the best managed state in the nation, and Warner's popularity soared.

When he left office in 2006, Warner's approval rating stood at 80 percent, thought to be a record for a Virginia governor.

Meanwhile, Gilmore's standing has worsened as Democrats and some Republicans have stepped up attacks on his record.

In a Washington Post poll last month, 40 percent of residents had a favorable impression of Gilmore, a 20-percentage-point decline since 1997. The same poll found that Warner would beat Gilmore by 30 points in a general election.

But Gilmore is banking that Warner's popularity will erode once he has to stake out positions on federal issues. Gilmore also plans to link Warner to Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton. Republicans say the New York senator is too liberal and polarizing for Virginia voters.

"Does Virginia really want to a send a senator to Washington who is going to support Clinton?" Gilmore asked.

Hall dismissed suggestions that Clinton would drag down Warner. "Who's to say who the Democratic presidential nominee will be?" he asked. "For that matter, it is not altogether clear who the GOP senatorial nominee will be."