Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Under a setting Virginia sun, 1,500 miles from the Mexican border, Melinda Nimmer explained why immigration is one of the key issues that will determine her vote for Congress on Nov. 7.

``We have laws that have not been enforced for years and years,'' said Nimmer, 58, a Republican homemaker from Norfolk. ``It's silly.''

Three weeks before the midterm elections, House Republicans in states far from the Mexican border are stressing their tough stance on immigration -- and opposition to plans backed by President George W. Bush and senators of both parties -- to rally supporters and help protect their congressional majority.

Nimmer's representative, Republican Thelma Drake, is one of them. Drake, 56, is locked in a difficult re-election race against Phil Kellam, the Virginia Beach revenue commissioner; Democrats are spending more than $250,000 from their congressional campaign committee this month alone to try to capitalize on dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq and congressional ethics scandals.

Drake says her emphasis on immigration is an accurate reflection of her constituents' concerns. `It's the issue that we hear the most about,'' she said in an interview before a campaign rally in Virginia Beach.

As proof, her chief of staff, Tom Gordy, said that in the past year her office has received about 4,000 letters from constituents clamoring for tougher border security and enforcement of immigration laws.

Military Population

That's about twice as many as were received on questions relating to the military in a district that includes Norfolk Naval Base, home to the Navy's Atlantic fleet, as well as a naval air station and an Air Force base.

``The intensity of the letters is unlike anything I've ever seen,'' Gordy said.

Kellam largely agrees with the congresswoman's views on immigration. Even so, he said, her real reason for emphasizing the issue is to energize Republican voters and rescue her re- election bid. ``She's in trouble and she wants to be divisive and push her base,'' Kellam, 50, said in an interview.

Drake led her opponent by just two percentage points, 48 percent to 46 percent, in a poll of 982 likely voters conducted Oct. 8-10 by the Seattle-based firm Constituent Dynamics. The lead was within the survey's 3 percentage-point margin of error.

Drake was first elected to Congress in 2004 with 55 percent of the vote in a district Bush carried in the last two presidential elections. The district isn't reflexively Republican, though: Democratic Governor Tim Kaine carried it in 2005.

A Potent Issue

Immigration may be a potent issue for Republican candidates to raise turnout on Election Day, according to a nationwide survey of 1,000 likely voters commissioned by the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based research group that favors more restrictions. The survey showed that in 10 House races -- including close contests in Colorado, Georgia and Indiana -- voters selected the issue as one of their top concerns.

In interviews in Drake's district, more than a dozen local Republicans cited immigration as an important issue, along with the region's transportation problems and the war in Iraq. ``We just need to close it up and control it,'' Jim Morris, 66, a general contractor and self-described ``staunch Republican,'' said about the border.

Unfinished Business

Overhaul of the nation's immigration laws was one of the most prominent pieces of unfinished business when lawmakers left Washington last month. After the House approved a measure in December to increase border security and crack down on the hiring of undocumented immigrants, the Senate passed legislation backed by Bush creating a new guest-worker program and a path to legal status for immigrants in the country illegally.

House Republicans refused to negotiate with the Senate on a compromise. Instead, they held a month of hearings around the country and passed a package of measures in September aimed at cracking down on undocumented workers, tightening security at the border -- and making immigration an election-year issue.

While Drake and Kellam both support the House legislation and oppose the Senate measure, Kellam said the incumbent is focusing on immigration to avoid talking about other pressing issues, such as the war in Iraq.

``We have to deal with Iraq before we deal with immigration as a primary issue,'' he said. Only about 5 percent of the district's population is Hispanic, below the national level of 12 percent, according to estimates by the Census Bureau, and fewer than 15 percent of Hispanics in the district are foreign-born.

`Very High'

Drake said immigration rates ``very high'' in her campaign's polls of voters, though she declined to provide results.

Glen Sussman, a professor of political science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, said immigration can be a useful tool for getting Drake's core constituency out to the polls in a tight race.

``I would categorize it like abortion and gun control, which you might call wedge issues or emotional issues,'' Sussman said. ``It's a way to get people's attention.''

Virginia Beach Republican Party Chairman Chuck Smith said Drake is on the right track. ``People will turn out on immigration issues,'' he said.

Two former congressmen from Drake's district aren't so sure. ``I have not sensed, from what I have heard on the street, a lot of interest in the immigration issue,'' said G. W. Whitehurst, 81, a Republican who represented the district from 1968 to 1987.

Owen Pickett, a Democrat who served from 1987 to 2001, agreed. ``The people I talk with, I don't think immigration is the top of the list of their concerns,'' said Pickett, 76, a Virginia Beach attorney. ``Iraq is one of the bigger concerns.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Johnston in Norfolk, Virginia at njohnston3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 18, 2006 00:17 EDT