RICHMOND -- Two former Republican chairmen of powerful General Assembly budget committees endorsed Democrat Mark Warner's candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Monday, citing Warner's handling of state finances during his term as governor.

The endorsements from retired Del. Vince Callahan of Fairfax County and retired Sen. John Chichester of Northumberland County further Warner's efforts to demonstrate bipartisan appeal in his race with Republican Jim Gilmore, who preceded Warner as governor. The former legislators indicated they will vote for Republican John McCain in the presidential election while supporting Warner in the Senate contest.

Callahan led the House Appropriations Committee and Chichester led the Senate Finance Committee during Warner's gubernatorial term, and became allies in Warner's efforts to erase nearly $6 billion in cumulative revenue shortfalls.

Warner cut spending and merged some state agencies early in his term. Then, with help from Callahan and Chichester, he won support for a 2004 tax increase worth $1.4 billion over two years.

Warner recalled that Virginia had been placed on credit watch by one of three bond-rating agencies prior to passage of the 2004 tax legislation, which marked a turning point in his term.

"Time and again, when Virginia was confronted with challenges during my tenure, they were partners," Warner said of the two GOP lawmakers.

Chichester's support for Warner already had been made public by his appearance in a television ad for the Democrat's campaign. Callahan predicted that other Republicans will follow their lead this fall, when Virginians elect a successor to retiring Republican Sen. John Warner.

John Warner is not related to Mark Warner.

"I think that John Chichester and I are just the tip of the iceberg," Callahan said in a telephone conference call.

Chichester said Mark Warner worked effectively with a Republican-controlled legislature to right the state's finances and fix a "credibility problem" at the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Gilmore said the endorsements by Callahan and Chichester merely signaled their support "for higher taxes." Gilmore has criticized Warner for the 2004 state tax increase and for favoring the elimination of federal tax cuts championed by President Bush.

"The point is they're supporting Mark Warner because they know Mark Warner stands for higher taxes," Gilmore said Monday has he arrived at a Richmond fundraiser for McCain.

Callahan and Chichester sponsored versions ofGilmore's signature car tax relief program, which passed the General Assembly in 1998. The legislation called for the gradual elimination of the personal property tax levied on the first $20,000 of a vehicle's value, with the state reimbursing localities for revenue lost by the phaseout of the tax.

The tax relief rate was frozen at 70 percent in 2002, and lawmakers ultimately capped annual spending for the program at $950 million. Callahan said the program became "an extreme burden" on the state budget.

"I think it's become something of an albatross around the neck of Virginia right now," Callahan said.

Gilmore said his car tax relief program "remains good policy."

Gilmore today will hold news conferences in Richmond, Norfolk and Manassas to kick off what his campaign is calling a "Working for Families" tour of the state. It is Gilmore's first major campaign swing since he won the Republican nomination May 31.