Va. Delegation Hoping to Put a Halt to Slide

Eight years ago, Virginians attending the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia were the envy of the state delegations.

Virginia Republicans controlled four of five statewide offices and the General Assembly. They were the only delegates invited to stay at George W. Bush's hotel. Their leader, then-Gov. James S. Gilmore III, was given a prime-time speaking slot.

But today, state Republicans attending the opening of the national convention in St. Paul are in a decidedly different situation.

They have lost three straight races for statewide office and are locked in a battle to keep their 44-year hold on presidential voting in the state. Their party has struggled to raise money, swapped leaders four times in as many years and witnessed battles between moderates and anti-tax social conservatives.

Ben Marchi, 30, of Richmond, who is a delegate to the national convention for the second time, said Republicans in the state have spent years "soul searching" as personality conflicts and disagreements about election strategy split the party. The problems culminated in a pair of bitter, hard-fought internal elections at the state party convention in June.

"I think what you saw was a lot of frustration among the rank and file,'' said Marchi, state director of Americans for Prosperity, a group that supports limited government and free trade. "Republicans had forgotten where they came from."

Virginia Republicans, reeling from problems at home, also are feeling the impact of a national fatigue caused largely by an unpopular president and an unpopular war.

"Party organizations across the nation are splintered and battle-weary,'' said U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, a Northern Virginia Republican and a delegate to the convention.

Davis, who will retire from Congress in January, said Republicans nationwide do not have as much energy and enthusiasm as Democrats do right now.

That's particularly true in Virginia, where Democrats are relishing recent victories and Virginia's new status as a battleground state in the presidential election.

State Democrats recently returned from their national convention in Denver, where party leaders -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, U.S. Sen. Jim Webb and former governor Mark R. Warner -- were showered with attention.

Republicans said they began losing ground in 2001, when they were defeated in the governor's race, which led them to lose much organizational and fundraising strength.