Va. GOP Leader's Tenure at Crossroad

Election Losses, Missteps Too Much For Some Activists

RICHMOND, Dec. 4 -- Several prominent Republican activists want to remove the state chairman after a series of missteps, internal disagreements and the party's worst losses in Virginia in a generation.

Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R-Prince William) campaigned for the job of chairman six months ago as a young, energetic leader who blamed his predecessor for failures at the polls. But many now consider his short tenure a failure.

The state party's governing body might try to remove Frederick at its meeting at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va., on Friday or at an unscheduled emergency meeting in the next couple of months, several party sources said.

"He's not the right face for our party," said James Rich, chairman of the 10th Congressional District Republican Committee and a member of the State Central Committee. "There's no credibility there. He's a joke, like something you would see on Jay Leno."

Last month, Republicans lost a U.S. Senate seat, three U.S. House seats and their 44-year-old hold on Virginia's 13 presidential electoral votes. Frederick's critics said his lackluster fundraising, his disputes with Sen. John McCain's campaign team and his ill-timed remark comparing Sen. Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden did nothing to help.

Longtime Northern Virginia GOP strategist J. Kenneth Klinge, who has been helping elect Republicans in Virginia for more than four decades, sent an e-mail to thousands of activists blaming Frederick for the outcome and calling on him to resign.

"I know a bad chairman when I see one," wrote Klinge, who has also donated to Democrats. "Frederick ranks as the worst state chairman in the history of the Republican Party of Virginia."

Frederick, one of the House's most conservative members, acknowledged that he has been unable to meet all his goals because of the time spent preparing for the Nov. 4 election. But he said he plans to focus on those priorities now instead of worrying about keeping his job.

"Many of the things are on track, and I'm excited by the opportunity we have," he said. "I can't spend a bunch of time looking behind. I have to focus on what we need to do to win in 2009."

Still, Frederick has been trying to calm concerns by calling State Central Committee members and elected leaders, including Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, House Speaker William J. Howell (Stafford) and Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (James City).

Although frustrated, some Republican activists have said that Frederick has allayed their concerns and that they intend to give him more time. "He's working hard to bring about organizational changes, and I think we need to give him a chance to do that,'' Bolling said. "We need to give him a chance to succeed."

Frederick does have a small circle of defenders who credit him with increasing the party's ranks.