Valley Pulse

The fault line in the Virginia Republican Party is more like that from an earthquake, not a minor jolt.

Witness this past weekend’s Virginia GOP Convention where former Gov. Jim Gilmore barely garnered enough delegates to become the party’s U.S. Senate nominee, and the trouncing of state GOP Chairman John Hager by Prince William Del. Jeff Frederick.

Perhaps Gilmore’s less than mandate selection is not a surprise given the divide in the GOP and his indifferent fundraising since he announced his candidacy five months ago.

Democratic Senate nominee Mark Warner has raised about eight times the money of Gilmore, and is already trotting out a television advertisement.
The Warner campaign acknowledged Gilmore’s selection by saying on Saturday that “when Jim Gilmore was governor, he showed he could not work with a legislature controlled by his own party on important issues like the budget, so it’s not surprising that members of his own party do not want to work with Jim Gilmore now. That’s also why we’re seeing unprecedented Republican and independent support for Governor Warner’s honest and responsible leadership.“
The drubbing of Hager was somewhat a surprise. During Friday’s state central committee meeting, there was reference made by state GOP staff to some nasty campaigning by Frederick.

Frederick is young and energetic at 32, and spoke of his ability to win tough legislative races in Democrat-strong Northern Virginia. He is considered a conservative, while the 71-year-old Hager is a moderate.

It’s no overstatement to say that Frederick has his work cut out for him.

The Republicans are likely to lose the U.S. Senate race in November, adding to a recent track record that includes loss of the gubernatorial race three years ago and the upset win by Jim Webb for the other Virginia U.S. Senate seat two years ago.

The mail brought a surprise last week.
I was the recipient of a new Republican agenda survey, courtesey of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

The survey asks for my opinions via multiple choice on such issues as national defense, homeland security, the economy, domestic issues and ways to unite the Republican Party.