It's been no secret that Democrat Michael Breiner is running as a moderate in an effort to win the right-leaning 22nd Senate District.

But on Wednesday, his opponent, Republican Ralph Smith, seemed also to aim for the center in a candidate's forum where he compared himself to former Virginia governors Mark Warner and Douglas Wilder -- both centrist Democrats.

In his opening statement before the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke, Smith said that although he has been painted as an extreme "no government guy," he actually supports many of the recommendations issued in a report on government efficiency that was commissioned by Warner and carried out by Wilder.

"They'll paint me as some radical right-wing guy -- I expect that. But what I'm telling you today is what I'm about is the same thing a former governor in the office [Warner] proposed and a former governor before him [Wilder] chaired the bipartisan commission on how we can run Virginia in a more efficient way than we have in the past," Smith said.

In a response, Breiner said he'd been compared to Warner as well.

"Actually going door to door, they [voters] have looked at me and said, 'Wow, you're a lot like Mark Warner.' I said, 'Well, I wish I could be like him, and I would certainly try to follow in his footsteps,' " Breiner said.

Warner recently announced his intention to run for U.S. Senate to replace Sen. John Warner (no relation), who will retire when his term expires in January 2009.

Despite Smith's and Breiner's efforts to appeal to moderates, however, several differences between the two were apparent during the half-hour forum:

Breiner touted his proposal to offer discount clinics for the uninsured to help ease the burden on hospital emergency rooms.

Smith said that would add an unnecessary government agency when local doctors are already volunteering time to work on the problem through Project Access. Breiner then said it doesn't operate after hours.

Smith said he supported President Bush's veto of the "SCHIP bill," which would extend government health care to an additional 4 million lower- to middle-income children. Breiner said he supported the bill and was disappointed in Bush.

Breiner called Virginia's new "abusive driving fees" ridiculous, but was vague about how he would replace that funding for new transportation funding. Smith criticized Gov. Tim Kaine's changes that applied the fees only to state residents. But he took a softer stance than Breiner, saying the General Assembly had made some mistakes with the legislation but that abusive drivers need to be "penalized more heavily." Smith added that he would make up the loss of funds by looking for government inefficiency.

-- Mason Adams

Oliver North to stump at fundraiser for Smith

Former U.S. Senate candidate Oliver North will visit Roanoke County later this month to anchor a fundraiser for state Senate candidate Ralph Smith.

North will appear at a private event for Smith in the Hunting Hills subdivision Oct. 23, according to Smith's campaign manager, Steve Mabry.

"Ollie is a personal friend of Ralph's," Mabry said. "We are excited he's going to be able to help out."

Smith, who defeated incumbent Sen. Brandon Bell in a June primary, is running as the Republican candidate for the 22nd Senate seat against Democrat Michael Breiner.

North rose to prominence in the late 1980s because of his involvement in the Iran-Contra Affair, in which weapons were sold to Iran, with the profits going to fund a rebel faction in Nicaragua. After the affair became public in 1986, North was called to testify before Congress, where he defended his actions as those of a patriot.

"He'll come with baggage," Smith said. But "the guy's a war hero. If I'm in a foxhole with bullets going over my head, there's no person on Earth I'd rather have in that foxhole trying to get me out of that situation."

In 1994, North re-emerged as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, running unsuccessfully against Charles Robb. That campaign, including scenes shot near the Roanoke City Market, is documented in the film "A Perfect Candidate."

Smith hosted fundraisers for North that year at Rockledge, his then-home on the side of Mill Mountain.

Currently, North hosts "War Stories with Oliver North" and appears regularly on "Hannity & Colmes," television shows that air on Fox News.

In addition to their friendship, Smith also has worked with North's Freedom Alliance nonprofit group, which promotes military service.

Breiner seemed unimpressed with the news of North's impending visit.

"Ralph's appeal is to the hard-right ultra-conservatives, so it doesn't surprise me that he has Mr. North down for a fundraiser," Breiner said.

Tickets for the event will start at $50 and range up to $2,500.

-- Mason Adams