Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 8, 1992 TAG: 9202080396
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
GOP NEWCOMER RUNS
Republican Donna Vance Erikson raised her arm as if to wave to a distant crowd after her candidacy announcement speech Friday at Piedmont Aviation in Roanoke.It was a staged gesture - meant only for the television cameras - because no local Republicans showed up for the event.
Erikson, 42, was undaunted by the absence of GOP activists, who in a matter of weeks will caucus to select the party's nominee for the 6th District congressional seat.
"I don't look for this to be an easy race," she said. "I'm here today because I think we need a new kind of candidate in the race.
"It is time the silent majority is heard and gets a nominee of their choosing."
The GOP choice, however, may be a foregone conclusion. Bob Goodlatte, a Roanoke attorney and former district party chairman, has nailed down key Republican activists throughout the 6th District.
Goodlatte's support among party regulars is so solid that another GOP contender, former Del. Phoebe Orebaugh of Rockingham County, stepped out of the race last month.
Republicans hope to recapture the 6th District seat, which stretches from Roanoke to Harrisonburg, now that Democratic Rep. Jim Olin is retiring.
Erikson, who has worked as a self-employed public relations consultant, said her candidacy would appeal to the business community.
"My candidacy gives the Republican Party the opportunity to provide the 6th District voters with a candidate who is not the status quo," she said.
A newcomer to the area, Erikson moved to Lynchburg in September 1990 and registered to vote there nine months ago.
To win the nomination, Erikson will have to mobilize supporters outside of local Republican circles, where she is virtually unknown.
In fact, Erikson would not give the name of a single supporter from Roanoke or Roanoke County, a key area in the nomination fight.
Jim Erikson, her husband and campaign manager, promised to release a list of supporters in the next two weeks.
Al Thomason, Roanoke County GOP chairman, said he probably would have attended Erikson's news conference, but he was not invited.
"I do not know where her support lies," Thomason said. "Her being so new to the district means that she has a long road to travel."
A native of Columbia, S.C., Erikson said she has worked as a marketing representative for an industrial products company and a stockbroker. In recent years she has run a consulting business in Northern Virginia.
Erikson is working toward an undergraduate degree through the adult-education program at Mary Baldwin College.
Erikson would not rule out a possible independent bid in the general election if Goodlatte wins the GOP nomination.
"I don't know," Jim Erikson said when asked about an independent campaign. "You can do a lot of things in this country. It's a free country."
Keywords:
POLITICS