For James McIntyre, it was a no-brainer. He was dissatisfied with his state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-37th) and decided to run against him for the Republican nomination this year.
"It was the right thing to do," he said.
After all, McIntyre, is no late-comer to local politics. His Republican activist credentials include serving as legislative aide to Del. Gary Reese (R-67th) as well as finance chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee and as a member of the Virginia State Central Committee. A former political appointee in the Reagan administration, McIntyre lives in Burke with his wife, Diane, who is the general registrar in Fairfax County. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.
MCINTYRE'S decision touched off a small scandal among some local Republicans, many of whom are loath to see a Republican incumbent challenged from within the party. One of the harshest critics of McIntyre has been Gary Reese himself, a longtime friend of McIntyre's.
"I said to Jim, 'Jim, I can't support you. I think this is a very big mistake,'" said Reese. "He didn't consult me, he didn't ask me. I have to do what I think is right."
What really upsets Reese is that people will think he put his own aide up against Cuccinelli to weaken the freshman senator, with whom he has had a rocky relationship.
"What I think has saddened me more than anything else, I think, is I'm going to get the blame for this," he said. "I have always taken the position that Republican incumbents should not meddle in another Republican incumbent's race."
McIntyre's announcement has strained his relationship with Reese, especially after Reese asked him to resign from his legislative aide position.
"I don't see that Jim's doing Gary any favors," said Cuccinelli. "It just puts Gary in a very difficult position."
Reese called Cuccinelli last week and assured him that he had nothing to do with McIntyre's decision.
"Timing in politics is everything," said Reese, adding that McIntyre should wait until Del. James Dillard (R-41st) retires and run for the vacant seat.
"I could say some things, but I won't," said Dillard. "I support Jim McIntyre. He's had some experience down there, and I think he'd be a real good senator."
The rift between McIntyre and Cuccinelli is emblematic of the growing split in the local Republican Party between the radical anti-tax wing and the rest of the party, according to Supervisor Elaine McConnell (R-Springfield). This split has caused two Republicans to challenge her in her re-election bid this year.
"Everybody's running against everybody this year," she said.
MCINTYRE IS undeterred. He calls himself a "conservative Republican" and says he has a chance of beating Cuccinelli.
"I believe that there are enough people out there who want an effective, conservative senator that will vote for me," he said.
Of the 16 bills Cuccinelli introduced, only one passed, McIntyre noted, adding that Cuccinelli's confrontational tone in Richmond has not endeared him to members of either party.
"I will look for ways in which we can accomplish our common goals," he said. "[Cuccinelli] seems to look for ways to get headlines."
If elected, McIntyre would work to "change hearts and minds" on controversial issues such as abortion, he said. And while he wants Virginia to retain its reputation as a low-tax state, he is unwilling to mandate caps to the growth of local government, an idea championed by Cuccinelli that McIntyre calls "simple-minded."
"It's time for us, the people in this community to decide which programs we want and how much we're willing to pay for them," he said.
But when asked which programs he would single out for particular scrutiny, he said, "I haven't spent a whole lot of time worrying about what I would do as far as the budget because I know as a freshman they wouldn't let me near the money."
McIntyre also said he would support raising the cigarette tax and giving counties the same taxing authority as cities.
Cuccinelli, also a freshman senator, noted that it takes a long time for meaningful legislation to make its way through the General Assembly. Even though most of his bills failed last year, he said, "That's not at all unusual for someone in their first session.
"If I wanted to just put in a bill to declare that grass is green, I could have gotten that pretty easily, but so what?"
THE TWO REPUBLICAN candidates for the 37th Senate District will face off at a "mass meeting" on May 10 at Centreville High School, where district Republicans will choose their pick. McIntyre said holding the meeting at Centreville High School, which is outside the district, gives Cuccinelli an advantage. Cuccinelli lives in Centreville, while McIntyre lives in Burke.
But Cuccinelli said, "At the time that it was set, it was just expected that we were the only ones that were going to have to show up and formally punch our card and then go home. There was no competition."