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but something had to be done about the remaining six months of Cramer’s term, and none of the most frequently mentioned possible candidates for the chairmanship seemed likely to win it without a divisive floorfight at the Central Committee meeting.
Anticipating this, the Peachee and Alderson factions attempted to reach an accommodation on a compromise candidate. Their first choice was Sen. John Chichester of Stafford who, while at first appearing interested, turned them down.
Two other possibilities then emerged. One was Theodore (Ted) Burr of Emporia, former fourth district chairman, and Donald W. Huffman, former chairman ef Roanoke>City. Burr-also* said he was not available, and the groups settled on * Huffman. He was not associated with either of the waning factions and appeared to be an ideal choice for interim chairman. By the time the plan became known to other insiders, the leaders had rounded up enough support to make this election very nearly a fait accompli.
But not quite. Cramer loyalists and other party regulars were furious at what they saw as an unmitigated example of back-room politics by a few power brokers, and a counter-coup was launched.
Two days before the Central Committee meeting, former party chairman George McMath of Accomack was contacted by .state GOP Vice Chairman Hugh Mulligan and asked if he would consider accepting the chairmanship. McMath said he would consider it if a consensus in his behalf could be put together. He had served as chairman from 1974 to 1979, when he retired citing health and family considerations. °
For the next 48 hours, McMath’s supporters burned up the phone lines corralling up votes. By late Friday night, they thought they had the support of a slim majority of the Central Committee members.
In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the day of the crucial meeting, McMath called Huffman, informed him with his support figures, and asked if he would consider bowing out.
When Huffman said he was too far committed to do so, McMath had second thoughts about his own candidacy. If he could not win by acclamation, he wanted a majority of sufficient strength to amount to a mandate. This he did not have. One source said he had led Huffman in the committee nose-count by only a single vote.
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