It’s been nearly two decades since Republicans have been able to field a successful candidate in Virginia’s eighth congressional district, an increasingly Democratic-trending swath of Northern Virginia. During the 1980s, Republican incumbent Stan Parris was able to beat back Democratic challengers with ease. In 1988, for example, Parris scored a hit with eighth-district voters by linking his opponent to the "liberal, northeastern, Massachusetts governor" Michael Dukakis and promising to bring home the bacon.

"I’m in favor of hydrofoils on the river, and I’m in favor of ray guns," Parris joked at one 1988 debate, according to a contemporaneous account in the Gazette Packet. "Think of something else. I’ll be in favor of it."

Times have changed since Parris promised eighth congressional district voters the moon and the stars. Alexandria Mayor Jim Moran ousted Parris in 1990, and the Alexandria Democratic Committee has since eased Republicans out of every partisan seat in the city. Now — with Moran seeking a tenth term in Congress — Republican voters in the Virginia eighth district are facing an important choice that could determine the future of their party in Northern Virginia. The Republican ballot on June 10 will pit a traditional Christian conservative against a libertarian candidate who is opposed to the war in Iraq.

"A lot of times Republicans are left with a choice between candidates who have very similar positions on most of the issues," said Chris Marston, chairman of the Alexandria City Republican Committee. "But this time we have two candidates who are offering a real choice to voters about the philosophy of government."

THE CHOICE FOR Republican voters has taken shape over the last month in a series of debates and joint appearances between the two candidates. Since losing the 2006 Republican primary to Thomas O’Donoghue, Ellmore has been amassing support and endorsements from prominent Republicans in the district. He has received endorsements from Gary Baise, who ran an unsuccessful campaign against Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly, and Republican operative Mike Lane, who helped run Bill Cleveland’s summertime campaign to fill a vacancy on the City Council. Alexandria’s party chairman said he hasn’t endorsed Ellmore, although he did contribute about $500 to his campaign.

"We’ve done all the work in the last two years," said Ellmore. "I am the only true Republican running in this race."

Ellmore supporters were taken off guard last month when Singh announced his candidacy at a rally in Old Town. After launching the campaign, Singh issued a press release announced the support of Bill Lockhart, a former Arlington County Republican Committee chairman and O’Donoghue campaign manager. Singh supporters describe him as a successor to Barry Goldwater, although Ellmore had some fun with this formulation by calling himself a "Ronald Reagan, Ron Paul, Barry Goldwater candidate." The sharpest exchange between the two candidates is on the issue of Iraq, with Ellmore charging that Gen. David Petraeus "knows more about strategy than Amit Singh, Barack Obama, Jim Moran, Hillary Clinton or Mark Warner."

"Petraeus is bailing out the politicians," responded Singh during one appearance. "When Iraq has a middle class, the insurgency will melt away."

WHICHEVER CANDIDATE is successful in the primary, they will have to face a nine-term congressman who is very popular in his district. Moran himself proved that beating a successful incumbent was a possibility in 1990 by beating a five-term incumbent. Matthew Smyth, the communications director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said the Republicans face a potentially difficult race against Moran.

"The eighth district has become increasingly Democratic over the past couple of decades, as Jim Moran’s continued success at the polls has shown," said Smyth. "That is not to say that Republicans cannot be successful in the region, as GOP candidates have seen success in state-level legislative races. The major issues don’t favor either party for the most part, and that can allow a quality candidate to have a chance at success."