Bush, McCain Fight for ‘Reagan Republicans’

Campaigning hard in a conservative state with a key primary next week, George W. Bush on Friday offered himself as the true Republican seeking the presidency while challenging rival John McCain’s bid to cast himself as the political heir of former President Reagan.

With McCain’s success in the GOP presidential race so far based largely on his ability to attract votes of independents and Democrats, the senator from Arizona has begun stressing his credentials as a “Reagan Republican.”

But Bush, devoting his entire campaign day to Virginia, repeatedly disputed McCain’s claim, stressing the differences between the tax plans the two candidates have offered.

“It is not Reagan-esque to support Bill Clinton’s tax cuts,” Bush said, arguing that McCain’s proposal to reduce taxes by $237 billion over the next five years is comparable to what the Democratic president has sought.

Bush, by comparison, has offered a plan to cut taxes by $483 billion over five years. Echoing his day’s theme, the Texas governor’s campaign also began airing a new ad in Virginia, California and several other states that touts his tax-cut plan as “Reagan-esque.”

McCain Rests Up, Heads to San Diego

McCain, for his part, spent part of the day resting at his family’s cabin outside Sedona, Ariz. But he traveled to San Diego for a late afternoon rally, where more than 3,000 people crowded into Balboa Park to hear him speak.

McCain’s bid to increase his support within the Republican establishment received a boost as he won an endorsement from Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon). Bush still enjoys the lion’s share of backing from elected GOP officials in California and elsewhere, but Hunter joins a smattering of Republicans who are embracing McCain.

McCain told his audience: “I’ll tell you what’s going to determine who the nominee of the Republican Party is and who the next president of the United States is: It’s the state of California.”

While both candidates are concentrating their efforts on California, the largest of 12 states with Republican contests on March 7, primaries loom Tuesday in Virginia and Washington state.

The McCain camp clearly is focusing more of its efforts on Washington than Virginia, the home state of the Rev. Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition and a strong Bush backer. “We have a better demographic in Washington for us,” McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said Friday.

By the same token, Bush cannot afford to lose Virginia, where the latest polls show his once huge lead over McCain ranges from 8 to 11 percentage points.

Pledge Not Expected to Stop Many Voters

Virginia’s primary is open to all registered voters with one condition: Those who vote must pledge not to participate “in the nominating process of any other political party this year.”

Few state officials believe this pledge will hinder many voters, since Virginia Democrats will pick their convention delegates in April at caucuses, which tend to be sparsely attended. Also, violating the Republican pledge carries no penalty.

Bush’s day in Virginia began with a stop in Newport News, a shipbuilding area where McCain’s opposition to some defense projects he views as “pork” is unpopular. Bush then traveled to the headquarters of America Online in the suburbs outside Washington, D.C. McCain has angered some residents in this area by pushing for added flights at nearby Reagan National Airport.

While at America Online, Bush participated in his first online chat as a candidate.

He ended his stumping with a speech in Richmond, where McCain’s efforts in Congress two years ago to raise cigarette taxes sparked the ire of local tobacco growers.

As Bush campaigned, Karen Hughes, his communications director, said in a conference call with California reporters that the Texan would spend all or part of six days in the state from now to the March 7 primary.

“First of all, California is obviously extremely important to Gov. Bush, and we think it’s a state where his message will resonate,” she said. “In many ways, it’s similar to his home state of Texas, where he has successfully reached out beyond traditional Republican constituencies.”

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Times staff writers Maria L. La Ganga and Art Pine contributed to this story.