Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 23, 1994 TAG: 9403230148
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER Note: above
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Rocky Mount Democrat has long entertained notions of seeking higher office, dating back to a short-lived Senate bid in 1982, they point out.
The twangy-voiced populist also has a reputation for reading the political landscape, and many Democrats see incumbent Sen. Charles Robb as especially vulnerable.
``I heard that fellow up at the University of Virginia [political analyst Larry Sabato] on the radio today, and he said he perceived a voter rebellion against the two front-runners in both parties,'' said Del. Ted Bennett, D-Halifax.
``Well, Virgil Goode has an awfully good ear for what the people are thinking. He's got about as good a feel for politics as anybody I know, so don't underestimate him.''
Don't try to predict him, either.
``It's like a bolt out of the sky,'' exclaimed Warren Campbell, a key Robb organizer in Roanoke County after he heard Tuesday that Goode was making plans to run. ``There have been no rumors, nothing.''
But that's typical Goode, his friends said.
He's been a loner throughout his 21-year political career, and one with a flair for the dramatic. ``Nobody ever said Virgil was indecisive,'' Bennett said.
Goode, contacted Tuesday afternoon at his Rocky Mount law office, had little to say about his plans. ``If I told you now,'' he joked, ``nobody would show up'' today when he plans a news conference at the state Capitol in Richmond.
But he acknowledged, ``I've been talking to a number of people over the past couple of days'' about the Senate race.
Three of those people, though, said Goode had pretty well made up his mind by the time he talked to them Monday.
``He just thought he had a real shot at it and thought he'd give it a go,'' said Willard Finney, a former Democratic legislator from Rocky Mount. ``He said, `By the way, I want to run something by you. I'm thinking about running for the U.S. Senate.' He asked if I thought it was a crazy idea. I said, `No, not at all.'''
Two other Democrats that Goode apprised of his plans were former state Sen. Granger Macfarlane of Roanoke and former state party chairman Paul Goldman of Richmond.
The former offered money, and the latter offered strategy.
``He called and said he was considering it and would I help,'' Macfarlane said. ``I was delighted. I told him I'd carry his petitions and give him some money.
``What it really comes down to is Virgil knows, just as you know and I know, that the citizens of the commonwealth are hungry for a top quality, first-class candidate.''
Although Goode's decision may have come as a ``bolt out of the sky,'' perhaps it shouldn't have, his friends said.
After all, Goode mounted a long-shot campaign for the Democratic nomination in 1982 after front-runner Owen Pickett was forced out in a party squabble between Douglas Wilder, who then was a state senator from Richmond, and Robb, who was governor.
Goode was regarded as little more than a regional candidate, and the nomination eventually went to then-Lt. Gov. Dick Davis.
But Goode's ambition didn't die. When Rep. Dan Daniel of Danville retired in 1988, Goode studied a bid for Congress. Eventually, Goode - then divorced, and caring for his daughter much of the time - decided not to run.
``I knew he still wanted to run for higher office and expected to when his personal situation got settled,'' Bennett said.
About two years ago, Goode re-married - to Bennett's former legislative aide - and this is the first good political opportunity to come along since then, Bennett noted.
Goode is highly regarded by fellow legislators for his intelligence and his work ethic. But it's unclear how his unorthodox brand of conservative-tinged populism might play among Democratic voters in the June primary.
With his country accent and distrust of ``the big boys,'' Sabato said Goode ``reminds me of Henry Howell,'' the liberal populist whose politics unnerved the party establishment two decades ago - and whose upset win in the 1977 primary for governor led Democratic leaders to favor conventions, instead.
Until now.
``Virgil Goode is upset material,'' Sabato said. ``He's got all the right elements. He just has to arrange them in the right way.''
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB