Eight years ago in Virginia when Senator John McCain visited for the GOP presidential primary, he had called Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, two of the most prominent religious leaders as “agents of intolerance.”
While McCain is back and as the GOP frontrunner and inevitable candidate, the wounds are still open among Virginia’s conservative voters and across the United States. McCain faces the challenge of making peace with the conservative voting bloc which will prove vital if he is to win the general election come November.
Both the GOP and Democratic candidates are preparing for the first-ever regional primary on Tuesday where voters in Virginia, DC, and Maryland will go to the polls.
“This is the acid test for McCain,” according to Charles Dunn, who is the dean of the School of Government at Regent University, which is a Christian school located in Virginia Beach founded by Pat Robertson.
Dunn adds: “Huckabee comes here, and he speaks their language. Virginia is critical for John McCain.”
Robert D. Holsworth, the director of the Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University said: “He’s essentially become the presumptive nominee, but he has yet to close the deal with all the conservatives.”
Many voters in Virginia could turn to Huckabee instead of McCain.
Issues important to the conservative voters could include McCain’s advocacy granting illegal immigrants a path to US citizen ship, refusing to back a national ban on same-sex marriage, and supporting campaign finance restrictions which caused anger within the conservative ranks.
But issues from national security to eliminating waste and keeping taxes down could be more important to the Republican voters, including the conservative Republicans.
Both the Virginia and national GOP are trying to unify the faithful behind McCain. Republicans have made it clear that they must stand united behind John McCain if they are to beat either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama come the November election.
“John McCain is the strongest candidate for us to win the war against terrorism and succeed in the war in Iraq,” said former governor and US Senator, George Allen who is a longtime icon of the conservative movement in Virginia.
Allen adds: “He is the most consistent and credible person to carry this torch for all America.”
McCain’s status as a Vietnam War POW should do well among the military population in Virginia. The campaign is also positive that McCain can pick up voters that have supported Romney for his economic message.
“We think the most of governor Huckabee, and obviously his background is one that would fit with evangelicals in Virginia because he was a Baptist preacher,” said former close associate of Falwell, Brett O’Donnell. He adds: “We just think that John McCain is better prepared to handle the war on radical Islamic extremism.”