Va. Republicans Chart a Return to Dominance

RICHMOND, Oct. 10 -- After years of prominent defeats, Virginia Republicans say they are bracing for more losses in November but think they can reverse the trend as soon as next year by returning to their conservative roots and addressing the financial crisis and other issues.

The party needs to return to core conservative principles and denounce the excessive spending that has permeated Richmond and Washington in recent years, activists say.

"It's a betrayal of our stated philosophy," said Gary Byler, a party leader in Hampton Roads. "After all our blood, sweat and tears, it's just a fundamental betrayal."

Republicans say they need to offer specific ideas for specific issues. Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R), who is running for governor next year, and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), who is running for reelection, are trying to do just that. They have teamed up to form an advisory group to help them devise possible solutions to Virginia's problems.

They say they must outline conservative solutions and then get the message out. In the past, they say, the party has failed to do both.

"We have done a lousy job telling our story," McDonnell said.

That was the model the GOP used to inspire voters in the 1980s when Ronald Reagan won the White House and the 1990s when Newt Gingrich and others unveiled the Contract With America, a detailed plan of action for Congress.

But they say that task is difficult while the GOP brand remains tarnished. Republicans expect losses this year.

"If we go out and simply say, 'Vote Republican,' it doesn't work," Bolling said. "We have to get back to who we are. We can't keep doing things the way we have done them."

Both parties are closely watching next month's elections in Virginia to see if the results help further solidify the once-conservative Southern state's gradual blue shift.

Democrats are expected to pick up the seat of retiring Sen. John W. Warner, the House seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Davis and possibly others.

No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Virginia since 1964, but recent polls show Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) locked in an extremely competitive race for Virginia's 13 electoral votes. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last month indicated that likely voters in the state are divided 49 percent for Obama and 46 percent for McCain.