Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 13, 1994 TAG: 9401130229
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I thought he [Wilder] had an excellent chance of winning. At least I won't have to make a difficult choice in the primary. . . . Chuck Robb obviously is in a stronger position." Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Newport News.
"What we saw tonight was the exhibition of an astute politician . . . I take the governor at his word . . . although it was a good piece of showmanship. I don't know who would have won the [primary]. The situation is too volatile and the issues are unclear. If I'd told you last year that George Allen would have won the November election with a landslide, you would have said I was a candidate for the looney bin." Majority Leader Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County.
"It's a good thing for Democrats. It obviously gives Robb a chance to build back some unity in our party. Obviously, the problem of rebuilding the party after a divisive primary would have been difficult." Joseph V. Gartlan Jr., D-Fairfax County.
"This was vintage Wilder. Not in my wildest dreams did I think that he would withdraw from the race. When he said he was going to run for the U.S. Senate, I thought it was not so much that he would win, but that he would do what he could to spite Chuck Robb. . . . The man amazes me." House Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk.
"This was Doug Wilder at his best - flamboyant to the end. He dropped a bombshell. From the perspective of a Democrat, this was good. We won't have the fallout of the two leading Democrats in the state clawing at one another. We've avoided a cat fight." Del. Kenneth Melvin, D-Portsmouth.
"He got me again." Minority Leader Vance Wilkins, R-Amherst.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB