RICHMOND, Virginia — Just when it looked Virginia's Republicans were on their heels, a handful of events no one could predict a month ago have stoked the party's conservatives ahead of this fall's state litmus-test races for governor and other statewide offices.
Scandals involving a nutritional supplements company, its chief executive and his unreported gifts to GOP gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli and Gov. Bob McDonnell's family threatened to dampen the weekend's Republican convention.
But a week's worth of headlines has buoyed the GOP. There was the IRS stonewalling tea party groups' nonprofit applications, more questions about the White House response to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, and the Justice Department collecting The Associated Press' phone records.
Cuccinelli says it creates enthusiasm that his ticket stands to harness.
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