Senate Candidates Prep for First Debate

But the day before the event, Warner sought to undercut Gilmore's record as governor and raise questions about whether the GOP would unite behind him.

Warner organized a conference call with Chichester and former Republican delegate Vincent F. Callahan of Fairfax County, who had been chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The two longtime Republicans announced that they were endorsing Warner.

Callahan and Gilmore were allies during the fight several years ago over a car tax, Gilmore's signature issue. But Callahan said Gilmore misled legislators about the costs associated with eliminating the tax. Gilmore denies the charge but didn't have a strategy to diminish Callahan's credibility.

Warner was able to tout the endorsements when he accepted the Democratic nomination at the state party convention last month.

His campaign has also been quick to prevent Gilmore from gaining traction on any single issue.

At the GOP convention, Gilmore made it clear that he was trying to make gas prices a major issue. His proposal to deal with $4-a-gallon gas can be summed up, as he put it, in four words: "Drill here, drill now," a reference to his belief that the United States should drill off Alaska's shore to find energy sources.

Warner responded June 19 with his own energy proposal, which calls for getting tougher with OPEC and beefing up the regulation of investors who speculate in the oil market.

Last week, Warner sought to take the offensive while undercutting Gilmore on terrorism and national security.

Gilmore has said recently that he is better suited to deal with terrorism because he was governor during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and headed a national commission on homeland security. But Warner held a news conference last week to tout the endorsement of W. Gerald Massengill, a Republican who was the Virginia State Police superintendent Sept. 11.

There were "all kinds of difficult moments where governor Warner stepped up to the plate," said Massengill, who was police superintendent during the first year of Warner's administration.

But Gilmore is a long way from being defeated. And the debate July 19 could be Gilmore's opportunity to begin his offensive.

In the 2006 Senate race, many observers said they thought George Allen, the Republican incumbent, began to lose ground in August, a month after the Homestead debate. But his challenger and the eventual winner, Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), might have had an earlier edge, as he used the debate to start gaining momentum in his campaign.

At the debate, Allen portrayed himself as interested in fighting terrorism, promoting "Virginia values" and cutting taxes.

Webb seized on issues that voters responded to in November -- the war in Iraq, President Bush and the economy -- when Democrats picked up control of both houses of Congress.

Gilmore can hope for a similar opportunity to focus the campaign narrative at this year's debate. His challenge will be to find issues that will set him apart from Warner and resonate with voters in November.

Gilmore could hammer on those themes through the fall, as he has started to do on the issue of drilling for oil, and hope that Warner stumbles.