Politics

Another Bouquet For Bush

April 16, 1999 / 1:22 PM EDT / AP

Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, a tax-cutting conservative, on Friday joined the parade of GOP chief executives who have endorsed Texas Gov. George W. Bush for the Republican presidential nomination.

Gilmore, flanked at a news conference by two dozen Republican leaders from around the state, said Bush has abolished parole, cut crime, reduced welfare rolls and improved Texas' educational system during his term as governor.

"Governor Bush is everything that the American people expect from their president and I think more than that," Gilmore said. "With his record of inclusion and bringing people together, I think he'll appeal to people from all across the country."

In a remarkable show of early strength, Bush has lined up support of a majority of the nation's 31 GOP governors. Gilmore is the 15th Republican governor to publicly endorse Bush, though the Texan has secured private backing from several other chief executives, according to the Bush campaign.

Gilmore has secured Bush endorsements from Virginia's lieutenant governor, John Hager, 53 of the state's 70 GOP state lawmakers and nine of the state's 11 congressional district chairmen, he said.

Virginia governors have little influence in the nominating process. The state usually selects national convention delegates well after nomination battles have been settled in primaries elsewhere.

However, Gilmore is well-known nationally among conservatives for his pledge to cut car taxes and his solid anti-abortion record.

Also, Gilmore and the Legislature are considering changing Virginia law to let the state's parties have February primaries. That would make Virginia one of the first big states to select presidential nominees.

Virginia has voted Republican in every presidential election since President Johnson carried the state for Democrats in 1964.