Va. Republicans are apparently ready to dump party chairman

The governing body of the Republican Party of Virginia apparently is poised to dump its embattled chairman barely nine months after he took power in a coup against the GOP's old guard.

But the chairman, Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, R-Prince William, is vowing to fight removal and says he has enough support within the party's central committee to survive an ouster vote April 4.

Frederick may have been weakened further yesterday when he lost the confidence of the GOP's titular leader and all-but-certain nominee for governor, former Attorney General Bob McDonnell.

McDonnell described the revolt against Frederick as a grass-roots effort. But McDonnell tacitly sanctioned the uprising, saying that with Republicans attempting to take back the governorship and defending a shrinking majority in the House of Delegates, "it would be helpful . . . to have more effective leadership in this pivotal year."

The bill of particulars against Frederick includes the GOP's vast losses in November; lagging fundraising; his comment that Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden both had friends who had bombed the Pentagon; and use of his consulting firm to redo the party's Web site.

"I have every intention of continuing as chairman and completing my term in May 2012," said Frederick, who fended off an attempted coup in December. "I have the commitments necessary to win the vote on April 4."

Several party activists, including members of the central committee, said Frederick's foes have the votes to force him from the chairmanship he won in May from former Lt. Gov. John H. Hager.

To remove a chairman, party rules require a three-quarter vote of the central committee; that would be 58 of 77 members. The chairman must be told at least 30 days in advance of the vote.

On Wednesday -- a month before the central committee meets -- vice chairman Michael E. Thomas went to GOP headquarters on East Grace Street and waited 90 minutes to notify Frederick personally. When Thomas stepped into an office to confer with two staff members, Frederick dashed out of the building to his car, said high-ranking state GOP sources.

Some party leaders, including Connie Bedell of Fairfax County, briefly an adviser to Frederick, said he had become an embarrassment.

Bedell likened Frederick to the impeached governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich: "This is high-Blago. Same personality. Pretty funny that he hides rather than be 'served' with his removal papers."

As vice chairman, Thomas would become interim party leader. Possible permanent replacements include: Pat Mullins, a former Fairfax GOP chairman who now leads the Louisa County unit; former Del. Paul C. Harris, R-Albemarle; and Alexandra "Sandy" Liddy Bourne of Fairfax, an analyst for a conservative think tank.

Frederick yesterday announced a new fundraising chief: info-tech entrepreneur David K. Rensin of Leesburg, who has pumped $1.5 million into GOP campaigns since 2007. He succeeds multimillionaire businessman Walter M. Curt, who quit in January after declaring the party "dysfunctional."

Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or .