Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (1)
No. Va. Republicans see disconnect
For more than 40 years, McLean Del. Vince Callahan, now retired, was a leader to Republicans all over the state and legislators of all stripes in Northern Virginia.
Just a week ago, on his way to a Tysons Corner fund-raiser for Republican presidential nominee John McCain, Callahan was concerned about what his colleagues might say to him. That morning, news had broken that Callahan had formally endorsed Democratic senatorial candidate Mark Warner against his own party's pick, Jim Gilmore.
“I didn't know what kind of reception I would get after that,” Callahan said. It wasn't the one he expected.
“I had two dozen long-term Republicans congratulating me for what I did. ... That's indicative that there is a split in the party,” Callahan said.
Callahan believes his ticket splitting, along with that of a fellow Republican and Warner backer, retired state Sen. John Chichester, is reflective of a trend among Northern Virginia Republicans, brought on by dissatisfaction with the national and statewide party.
“They're moving to the right, but we need to be more moderate to win,” Callahan said.
Retiring U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11th) seems to share Callahan's opinion. Though he declined to be interviewed for this article, Davis told The Times last month that his district had become “more moderate” and denounced his party leadership in a widely circulated memo some months ago.
“If we were a dog food, they would take us off the shelf,” Davis wrote.
David Skiles, political director of the Fairfax County Republican Party, disapproves of Callahan's endorsement, but admits there's a disconnect between the mindset of the Northern Virginia Republicans and the rest of the state. Skiles illustrates the shift with the 2004 gubernatorial election.
“Kaine came to Northern Virginia and talked about transportation. [Republican] Jerry Kilgore talked about the death penalty. ... The Republican party needs to embrace issues voters in Northern Virginia care about,” Skiles said.
George Mason government professor and Virginia politics expert Toni Travis says that part of the shift can be traced to changing demographics, driven by Fairfax County's rampant growth in recent years.
“Northern Virginia has so many more new voters between any two election cycles, no one can tell how they're going to vote,” Travis said.
Callahan believes that the demographic shift hurts Republicans most because of the party's position on immigration.
“The Hispanic community is being turned off by the Republican Party. A generation from now they'll be solidly Democrat,” he said.
On the other hand, Travis believes that much of the discord within the state party is being driven by personality clashes between local Republican leaders and Gilmore. As governor, Gilmore frequently clashed with Callahan over the state budget, and Davis announced his retirement after it became clear that the state party favored Gilmore as a candidate for retiring Sen. John Warner's seat.
“I think this is a personality thing,” said Travis, who added that Northern Virginia Republicans may be overstating the region's changing views.
“They're repositioning themselves. ... I think Davis made a deliberate decision to sit out this cycle,” Travis said.
“There certainly is a shift in the party, but that's not to say that the party is not energized,” Skiles said.
email the reporter at mtayloe@timespapers.com
THE WORST THING No. VA Republicans can do… is open their mouths and discuss any issue in today’s political agenda… And, they are perfectly capable of doing so…
Posted by Gbaxter
Report Offensive Content
You must be logged in to post a comment.