State’s Republicans Gather on a Hopeful Note : Politics: In contrast to bitter 1992 ‘unity’ meeting, GOP is focused on winning on governor’s, Senate races.

With electoral disaster looming just around the corner two years ago, California Republicans were so bitterly divided at their pre-election “unity” convention that the unofficial head of the party--Gov. Pete Wilson--stayed as far from the convention hotel as he could.

Wilson used the excuse that his sunny September weekend was better spent out in the field working to get GOP legislators elected than defending himself in some stuffy meeting room against the barbs of the Republican right, with which he had feuded ever since taking office in January, 1991.

Today, the picture is far different as an estimated 2,000 Republicans gather in Wilson’s hometown for the pre-1994 election meeting with hopes of winning closely fought battles for governor and U.S. senator.

“This party is energized, focused and united,” Republican Chairman Tirso del Junco, a Los Angeles surgeon, said in an interview.

Republicans have come together in 1994 behind the issues of crime and illegal immigration, added del Junco, who emigrated from Cuba in 1951, and have put behind them, at least for now, the most disputative quarrels over social issues.

“We have a tremendous chance, according to all the polls, to not only reelect our governor, but to pick up a lot of seats (in the Legislature and Congress) if we do not become complacent,” he said.

Wilson is scheduled to deliver a showcase address at lunch today, with speculation that he might use the occasion to formally endorse the passage of Proposition 187, the controversial November ballot initiative that proposes to cut off state services to illegal immigrants.

The convention also gives a platform to two potential GOP challengers to President Clinton in 1996. Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas will deliver the keynote address at the convention session Sunday. Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole will speak at tonight’s dinner.

A battle over abortion rights at the 1992 convention in Los Angeles was one of the reasons Wilson found it more attractive to go stumping the field for Republican legislators. A major reason for conservative dissatisfaction with Wilson has been his support for abortion rights and gay rights. They rebelled even more strongly in 1991 when Wilson agreed to a $7-billion tax increase to get the state through a financial crisis.

Since then, Wilson has modified his support for gay rights and taken a pledge against new taxes.

Less than two months after the 1992 convention, California Republicans suffered one of their greatest electoral debacles of modern times. George Bush became the first GOP nominee for President to fail to carry California since Barry Goldwater in 1964. Democrats Feinstein and Barbara Boxer both won Senate seats.

As recently as a few months ago, Feinstein was California’s most popular politician in the opinion polls, and was considered a virtual shoo-in for reelection. But freshman Rep. Mike Huffington of Santa Barbara has spent millions of his personal fortune on a television advertising campaign to erode her support.

Huffington’s candidacy has been controversial even among some Republicans. Many conservative party members disagree with some of his moderate views. And others still are angry that Huffington, a relative newcomer from Texas, spent $3.5 million to defeat a popular Republican congressman, Robert Lagomarsino in the 1992 Republican primary.