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Parsing voters' wishes

GOP insiders discount idea that Tuesday election victories of Sen. John Chichester and his moderate colleagues signal shift in Virginia voters' philosophical leanings.

By CHELYEN DAVIS

Date published: 6/12/2003

In three state Senate districts, voters walked into voting booths Tuesday and chose a relatively moderate incumbent over a conservative, antitax, antiabortion, pro-gun challenger.

Were those voters sending a message to Republicans statewide, or were they simply reacting to factors in their own districts?

Political pundits say the success of Sens. John Chichester, Thomas Norment and Russ Potts sends a clear signal that rank-and-file Republicans don't want the party to stray too far to the right.

Party insiders, however, see it differently. They say the election results stemmed from goings-on in each individual district.

"I don't see it as being a strong philosophical message," said Gary Thomson, executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia. "You have three individuals with great ties to their community who worked hard, were challenged internally, which to me is a sign of a healthy party. I see it as a healthy thing that the party has the ability to challenge our own selves."

Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, himself a member of the party's conservative wing and a former client of Mike Rothfeld, Chichester's opponent, agreed.

"I'm not sure that there's any message, other than the voters who showed up seemed to be satisfied with the status quo. The majority of them seem to be satisfied with the people who are representing them," Cole said. "These races tend to be more about the person, a lot of times, rather than a statewide race where you might be able to say there's a statewide mandate."

Cole pointed out that while moderates defeated conservatives in the three Republican Senate primaries, things went a different way in at least two Republican House primaries.

Del. Jack Rollison, R-Prince William, was defeated by a challenger whose message of low taxes echoed that of the challengers in the Senate primaries.

And Del. Tom Gear, R-Hampton, is a conservative who bested his more moderate challenger.

The message to the right wing was not that they can't win, Cole said; it was that they should do less tilting at windmills and look at districts they could win.

"Where we as conservatives should be focusing our efforts is open seats and open efforts, rather than wasting our efforts on challenging incumbents where you probably know you're going to lose before you even start," Cole said.

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Date published: 6/12/2003