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In any event MeMath’s candidacy never surfaced and Huffman was duly elected without opposition at the Saturday morning session. He seemed to be in a good position to talk unity. Perhaps he was.
Some party regulars remain skeptical, however. While bearing Huffman himself no ill-will, they are still fuming at the way his election came about. Also, although he was presented as a compromise candidate, they note that he has installed members of the “Main Street” leadership in two powerful committee positions. He appointed Ferebee to head the party’s Finance Committee and Ethyl Corp. executive Bruce Gottwald, to chair the equally influential Budget Committee.
Then too, it is possible Alderson may have outsmarted himself. If, by supporting Huffman, he thought that he was installing someone who would merely keep the chairman’s seat warm for him until June, he could have badly miscalculated. Huffman has already said he does not plan to be merely a “caretaker” chairman. It sounds highly likely that he will seek a full four-year term as chairman in June.
Thus, while Virginia Republicans have put the Cramer flap behind them, it is clear they would need all the tight-lipped determination they can muster to keep their new facade of unity from coming unglued.
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