RNC Chairman Comes to Richmond

Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee waaaay up in Washington made a stop today at the Marriott hotel in Richmond to have a lunchtime chat with Jerry Kilgore supporters. It wasn't a fundraiser per se -- these 80 or so folks had already given at least $500 to the campaign, Kilgore said afterward. It was more a "thank you for supporting me"--and the lunch with Mehlman was a party favor of sorts.

It was the first time that anyone from the Republican national political power center had eased on down Interstate 95 and weighed in on Kilgore's behalf, said his spokesman, Tim Murtaugh. And boy, did Mehlman weigh in.

"I'm here to announce officially that the party is unified and that the Republican National Committee will be helping and supporting and providing assistance in terms of financial assistance, in terms of staff, in terms of help with tactics, Mehlman told reporters after the lunch. (The press was not allowed to attend). "We're going to do whatever we can to make sure that Jerry Kilgore becomes the next governor of this state."

(What those tactics will be, and how much money Kilgore can expect, Mehlman wasn't saying.)

"The attorney general in our opinion shows incredible leadership and is going to make a fantastic governor," he added.

And it didn't stop there. Mehlman made sure to unfurl President Bush's metaphorical coat tails from last year. And he indicated that the full force of the Republican political complex would be at Kilgore's fingertips, including the latest technological advances and voter identification system.

"In 2004 ... we had a leader who had a vision of reform," Mehlman said with Kilgore at his side. "I believe in 2005 the opportunity in Virginia exists [with] the exact same thing. Once again we have a principled conservative with a strong agenda for reform."

What about George Fitch, the mayor of Warrenton, who is challenging Kilgore in the primary? He's a Republican, too, isn't he?

For Mehlman, the only candidate that matters is the former attorney general and the state GOP is unified behind him. Dissention in the party ranks? No such thing.

"This is about Jerry Kilgore. This is a signal that the Republican Party in Virginia is unified," Mehlman said. "The entire congressional delegation, the two senators, the national committee man, the national committee woman, the state party all agree that Jerry Kilgore is the man."

Fitch wasn't surprised that the big boys had come in and were seemingly ignoring his candidacy. He has been trying to get Kilgore to debate him for several months.

"They basically have told me their trying to focus on Kaine," he said in an interview, referring to the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. "I expressed my displeasure with the [state] committee on this."

And as for Russ Potts, the Republican state senator from Winchester who's running as an independent for governor, Mehlman thinks he'll split a constituency, but it won't be the Republicans.

"Russ Potts is going to have the effect of splitting the vote those who support higher taxes are going to have a choice," he said. "A choice between [Democrat Tim Kaine] and Russ Potts."

By Chris Jenkins |  May 26, 2005; 4:26 PM ET  | Category:  Republicans
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Posted by: Omar | June 1, 2005 10:20 AM

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