"WAKEFIELD, Va., April 16 -- U.S. Senate candidate James S. Gilmore III (R) launched a broad assault on his potential Democratic rival Wednesday, accusing Mark R. Warner of being no different than other Democrats who want to raise taxes and hastily withdraw troops from Iraq.

Gilmore, who is vying for the GOP nomination to succeed retiring Sen. John W. Warner (R), made his remarks at the Wakefield Ruritan Club Shad Planking, an annual political event that attracts candidates and officeholders in both parties who gather in a field to talk about upcoming races, eat smoked shad and drink beer.

Gilmore, who like Mark Warner is a former governor, tried to link Warner to the Democratic presidential candidates. "I can assure you the people of Virginia have . . . a choice between Obama and Clinton and Mark Warner or John McCain and Jim Gilmore," he said. He also accused Warner of favoring a rollback of President Bush's tax cuts.

Mark Warner largely avoided Gilmore in his remarks but said later that Gilmore brought a nasty tinge to an event whose tone generally is lighthearted.

"I'm not surprised by the tenor of Mr. Gilmore's comments. It was the way he governed," said Warner, who said he has not given a specific date for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

Gilmore took the fight to Warner even though he is locked in what could be a close race for the GOP nomination against Del. Robert G. Marshall (Prince William). GOP officials will choose a nominee at a convention next month.

Gilmore is so confident he will prevail next month that he has printed hundreds of "McCain-Gilmore" signs, reinforcing his plan to latch his political fortunes to Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

During his speech, Mark Warner steered clear of the close race for the Democratic nomination between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.)

Warner, who was governor from 2002 to 2006, instead stressed that if elected he will form a group of a dozen senators from both parties who will govern as the "radical centrists."

"If there is one thing I learned as governor, you have to be bipartisan and accept the good ideas from both sides of the aisle," Warner said.

Polls show Warner has a big lead, and he has raised more than four times as much money as Gilmore.

It was clear Wednesday that Gilmore wants to make Virginia's Senate race a referendum on who people support in the presidential race. Warner has declined to endorse Obama or Clinton.

"I'm confident the people of Virginia are going to pick McCain-Gilmore," said Gilmore, adding that he is not worried about Marshall's challenge from the right in the nomination battle.

Warner said he believes Virginia will be "a very competitive state" regardless of whether Clinton or Obama leads the ticket, although he said he hopes the fight for the nomination ends soon.

Marshall's campaign centers on his opposition to abortion and taxes. He noted that Gilmore supports abortion rights until the eighth week of a pregnancy. Marshall supporters canvassed the event handing out a flier with a picture of a fetus.

"Mr. Gilmore, you're not just pro-choice, you're multiple choice," the flier said.

During his speech, Marshall vowed to be a staunch advocate for conservative principles. "I have not and will not and will never be a go-along, get-along politician," he said.

Warner appeared to relish the fight for the GOP nomination, needling both men during his remarks. "I never thought I'd see the day when either Jim Gilmore or Bob Marshall would be accused of not being far enough to the right," he joked.

Warner did win the traditional Shad Planking battle among the candidates to erect the most signs, with thousands of blue signs that stretched for miles leading into Wakefield, about an hour southeast of Richmond.

The Shad Planking, where Democrats used to pick their candidates for local offices, has been a Virginia tradition for 60 years. E. Floyd Yates of Powhatan, who is 105, was on hand Wednesday and is said to have attended all of them. Most statewide candidates set up booths and doled out free beer, cigars and hot dogs.

John H. Hager, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party and former lieutenant governor, said that more African Americans and women have attended in recent years but that "it's the same camaraderie, same spirit, same rite of spring."" (Tim Craig and Anita Kumar, The Washington Post, April 17, 2008)