THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 17, 1994 TAG: 9408170436
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEC KLEIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Ignoring rankled state Republican leaders, U.S. Sen. John W. Warner has vowed to assume the party mantle when he runs for re-election in 1996, even as he steps up his campaign to defeat this year's GOP nominee, Oliver L. North.
Warner has written a fund-raising letter to 15,000 supporters that casts independent candidate J. Marshall Coleman as the true GOP candidate.
``I simply cannot ask you . . . to put your trust and confidence in Oliver North,'' Warner wrote. ``That's why I'm supporting Marshall Coleman to give you a choice of Republicans.''
Warner's insistence in backing Coleman, a former GOP state attorney general, has put added pressure on rank-and-file Republicans who must decide between their party's nominee and their fidelity to Warner, widely considered Virginia's most popular politician. Even more, Warner appears to be courting a standoff between himself and party officials.
``I'm not going to make Warner important enough to respond to (his letter). He's not a Republican,'' said Patrick M. McSweeney, chairman of the state GOP party. He added: ``Sen. Warner is going to have to come back and explain to Republicans . . . why he should be nominated'' for re-election.
Several months ago, Warner left open the possibility of running as an independent in 1996. But in his letter, being mailed out this week, Warner said: ``I will exercise my right, pursuant to Virginia law, to take on any and all challengers, fair and square, with a Republican primary in the spring of the 1996 election year.''
Warner's letter comes at a time when Coleman's fortunes appear to be flagging; The independent candidate trails badly in fund raising and in opinion polls. A recent survey shows Coleman running last, behind North, Democratic incumbent Sen. Charles S. Robb and former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, also running as an independent.
Capitalizing on Warner's letter, Coleman campaign manager C. Anson Franklin said: ``I think the message in this is, Marshall Coleman is a lifelong Republican who would bring Virginia values and a Republican philosophy to voting in the Senate.''
The North camp seemed unimpressed. ``Republicans don't want to throw away their vote on a three-time loser,'' North spokesman Mark Merritt said, referring to Coleman's unsuccessful bids for governor and lieutenant governor.
Merritt was more careful in addressing Warner.
``Oliver North has never had an unkind word to say about John Warner,'' Merritt said. He added, however, ``John Warner is, you know, he's on his own on this one.''
Warner's letter could be one of the first pre-emptive strikes before Labor Day, when campaigns traditionally kick into high gear. Already, political strategists are drawing up different scenarios in a race that could turn nasty before then.
``If North starts to gain, it will force the other candidates to engage earlier,'' said Paul Goldman, former Democratic state party chairman.
``If Robb and North pull ahead, as I suspect they are, then Robb goes after North and North goes after Robb,'' said J. Scott Leake, executive director of the Joint Republican Caucus.
The question, strategists say, is who will strike first.
With an established political base, ``Wilder may be the first to go negative because he probably sees himself with the least to lose,'' said J. Bradford Coker, president of Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research in Maryland.
Wilder has already issued some scathing comments on his opponents. For example, in a recent fund-raising letter to supporters, Wilder began: ``Five of the most frightening words in American politics today may be `United States Senator Oliver North.' ''
The Wilder camp, however, insists it is only highlighting the differences between the candidates.
``The governor has never conducted a negative campaign,'' said campaign manager Glenn Davidson. ``He's always been positive, but he's always responded to charges leveled against him.''
The other candidates have also left open the door to be more aggressive.
``On the conduct of the campaign,'' said Robb spokesman Bert Rohrer, ``. .
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE U.S. SENATE RACE
by CNB