Energized by victories, GOP looks to avoid intraparty feud

WASHINGTON — Republicans emerged from Tuesday's elections energized by victories in Virginia and New Jersey, but their leaders immediately began maneuvering to avoid a prolonged battle with conservative activists over what the party stands for and how to regain power.

The victories, in races for governor, were cast by the party's national chairman, Michael Steele, as a sign of a "Republican Renaissance." In New Jersey, Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, was toppled by the Republican nominee, Chris Christie. In Virginia, Robert McDonnell, the Republican, defeated his Democratic opponent, R. Creigh Deeds.

Republicans said the victories showed that President Obama and his party were vulnerable on the economy, government spending and other issues.

Yet throughout the day, Republicans wrestled with the outcome of a special election for what had been a reliably Republican House seat in upstate New York, a contest that became a battleground between the party establishment and a conservative insurgency demanding more ideological purity from candidates. The race was won by a Democrat, Bill Owens, after the Republican nominee, Diedre Scozzafava, a moderate, quit as conservative leaders and grass-roots organizations rallied around a conservative, Douglas Hoffman.

Intramural

Despite Hoffman's loss, many conservatives promised to press on with their effort to oppose centrist Republican candidates. That vow intensified concerns among party leaders that the opportunities they see coming out of Tuesday's results could be dimmed by intramural battles over whether to reach for the political center or do more to motivate the base on the party's right.

"When our party is united, whether you run in a Northern state or a Southern state, our party can win," said the House Republican whip, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia. "But when you are divided, you can lose a seat that has been in the Republican column for quite a long time."

The debate has been fueled by a populist anger that has taken root among grass-roots conservatives, encouraged, in part, by political figures such as Sarah Palin, the party's vice-presidential nominee last year, and commentators such as Glenn Beck of Fox News. In that sense, the divisions within the party extend beyond the traditional strains between the shrinking ranks of Republican moderates and the social and economic conservatives who have dominated the party in recent years.

The situation is more complicated because, after the party's defeats in 2008, it has no dominant leaders or cohesive establishment to bridge the divides and help articulate a positive agenda. In that vacuum, the conservative activists and party leaders were jockeying for advantage Wednesday.

Steele, the party chairman, said the outcome in New Jersey and Virginia, where Christie and McDonnell had played down their conservative views on social issues, instead focusing on the economy, should go a long way toward relieving the divisions and showing the party how to win next year.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a potential 2012 presidential candidate who backed Hoffman in the New York race, said he would not get involved in a primary battle again. He said the New York contest, as a special election, had been unusual in that the nominee had been chosen by party leaders rather than by primary.

Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor who is also a possible candidate in 2012, urged Republicans not to support third-party candidates, warning that doing so was a recipe for defeat. "There is potential danger if people believe the way to get the attention of Washington is through third-party candidates," he said. "Typically what a third-party candidate does is ensure the election of the one you like the least."

But Huckabee, eager not to alienate conservatives, made clear he would support primary challenges to Republican candidates he thought strayed from the party's values. As one example, he said he was supporting a conservative challenger to Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, who is seeking the nomination for a Senate seat in a primary that is shaping up as the next big showdown between Republicans.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told ABC News that the committee would not spend money on behalf of candidates it is supporting in contested Republican primaries, like Crist in Florida. Although the committee typically does not spend money in primaries, Republicans said Cornyn's remark was intended to relieve some of the anger being directed at the party establishment.

Not dissuaded

Palin, who had endorsed Hoffman in the upstate New York race, indicated she had not been dissuaded by his loss there.

"To the tireless grass-roots patriots who worked so hard in that race and to future citizen-candidates like Doug," she wrote on her Facebook page, "please remember (Ronald) Reagan's words of encouragement after his defeat in 1976: The cause goes on."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who had endorsed the moderate Republican in the New York race, said the opportunity suggested by the results in New Jersey and Virginia should be an impetus to resolve tensions.

"I think the conservative movement and the Republican leadership can pretty rapidly come to an agreement that defeating Pelosi in 2010 and Obama in 2012 is worth sorting things out for," he said.