Another “Business As Usual” Republican, Sen. Marty Williams, R-Newport News, has picked up a primary challenger. Patricia Stall, a long-time Republican Party activist, is emphasizing her tax-cutting credentials.

In announcing her candidacy, Stall noted that she had served as the Newport News “KNOW” Campaign” and “Ax the Tax” coordinator that defeated the Sales Tax Referendum in 202. She also served as Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Taxpayer Coalition, an umbrella organization for all Taxpayer Alliances in Hampton Roads. More recently, she has worked to reduce the “skyrocketing real estate tax rate burden” on Newport News citizens.

Says Stall: “I will be a faithful Public Servant to the voters and taxpayers of the 1st Senate District of Virginia and protect them from unfair higher taxes and regional government run by unaccountable bureaucrats.”

I don’t keep close tabs on local races, but the backlash against free-spending “Business As Usual” Republicans seems to have some traction. Even here in Richmond, I’ve been hearing a lot about Scott Sayre running in the Valley against incumbent Sen. Emmett Hanger. The RightsideVA blog has a good profile of Sayre. A zealous advocate of market principles and limited government, Sayre is running a very strong race and could well unseat Hanger.

In my back yard, Henrico County, Joe Blackburn is waging a spirited campaign against Sen. Walter Stosch. Stosch, of course, is an institution in the state senate and will be very hard to unseat. But Henrico is an interesting county. There’s a vibrant small-government impulse here. That applies both to keeping government’s hand off our wallets and its nose out of our bedrooms. Blackburn is pounding hard on the state budget, which has swelled to enormous size during Stosch’s watch in the General Assembly. I don’t hear a lot of specifics coming from Blackburn, but I do believe him when he says he’s committed to setting priorities, making tough spending decisions and advocating the interests of taxpayers as opposed to the special interests that swarm the halls of the state Capitol — something that Stosch appeared reluctant to do.

Meanwhile, the departure of Sen. John H. Chichester, R-Northumberland, and Sen. Russell Potts, R-Winchester, will dramatically change the tone of the Republican caucus in the General Assembly. If GOP voters throw out a couple of “Business As Usual” senators — Hanger and Stosch are possibilities — other Business As Usual players will get the message.

Assuming Republicans can hang onto control of the state Senate, the 2008 General Assembly could see a permanent end of the intra-party deadlock that paralyzed Republican governance for years until the passage of The Comprehensive Transportation Funding and Reform Act of 2007.

But will a less fractious GOP caucus make any difference? Will a Republican Party dedicated to smaller state government display more innovative thinking and fresh approaches to long-standing problems? Will Republicans work to transform the outmoded institutions of governance, land use, transportation, education and health care to meet the needs of the 21st century? Or will they simply continue the politics Business As Usual on a smaller budget?

The future of Virginia hinges upon the answer.