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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 8, 1992                   TAG: 9201080117
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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WILDER FOCUSING ON N.H. PRIMARY

RICHMOND - Due partly to concerns that his presidential campaign might be written off as a blacks-only affair, Gov. Douglas Wilder has decided to move full-steam ahead in the New Hampshire primary.

Campaign officials confirmed Tuesday that an internal debate over whether to inject funds into the Granite State or scale back efforts there in favor of several Southern states with large black populations has been decided in favor of New Hampshire.

"It's a go," said Mame Reiley, Wilder's New Hampshire coordinator, who was informed of the decision Sunday night by campaign manager Joe Johnson.

The judgment followed several days of intense discussions, made public last week when Wilder acknowledged the internal debate in an interview. With his fund raising lagging, Wilder said, advisers were split on whether to buy television air time in New Hampshire or spend elsewhere.

Johnson confirmed that Wilder's media firm - Trippi, McMahon and Squier - is purchasing air time and that ads probably will begin running next week. He did not dispute sources who said the purchase likely will total about $250,000. Wilder has raised less than $1 million to date.

Reiley and Johnson acknowledged that concern about the racial implications of writing off New Hampshire factored into the campaign's decision. New Hampshire has a miniscule black population, while other states Wilder is targeting - Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia - have large black votes.

But if Wilder had pulled back in New Hampshire, some advisers apparently feared a public perception that he was writing off white voters.

Keywords:
POLITICS

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