Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 26, 1993 TAG: 9302260287
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
WILDER CONSIDERS SENATE RUN AGAINST ROBB
Gov. Douglas Wilder said Thursday his success in pushing handgun limits, likely to be seen as one of his most important accomplishments as Virginia governor, has encouraged him to challenge fellow Democrat Charles Robb for the U.S. Senate.In an interview, Wilder said he expects to decide by June whether he will run against the senator for their party's Senate nomination in 1994. The governor offered a detailed criticism of Robb's performance that left little doubt he would relish the contest.
"I think it's winnable," Wilder said. "I don't think the incumbent is the strongest kind of incumbent."
The governor said Robb had virtually guaranteed that he will be opposed for the party nomination, if not by Wilder then by some other Democrat. The role that the senator's aides played in trying to discredit Wilder through a taped phone call and Robb's vote in favor of Clarence Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court have angered many voters, Wilder said.
Wilder's proposal to limit handgun purchases to one a month gained legislative enactment Thursday. He boasted that his victory, combined with what he said is rising public awareness that he has done a good job handling Virginia's finances during the recession, have rehabilitated his once-dismal standing with Virginians.
"Perceptions have changed," he said. "It doesn't hurt you if you talk about running for future office."
Robb declined to comment on Wilder's criticism. "I believe it is in the best interest of the commonwealth if we concentrate now on our current responsibilities," Robb said in a statement. "It seems to me the people of Virginia will be better served if we postpone intraparty politics to a more appropriate time and place."
His press secretary, Peggy Wilhide, said, "In short, we're not going to take the bait."
Wilder said the role of Robb's office in circulating an illegal tape recording of the phone conversation likely would be a campaign issue. He said he is particularly angry that in recent weeks, after a federal grand jury declined to indict Robb in the affair, the senator has claimed exoneration and charged he was treated unfairly by the news media.
"For him to continue [talking] about being this victim is hypocrisy of the rankest order and will have to be dealt with," Wilder said. "The voters will have to make that determination."
Wilder predicted the public eventually will see that he has been the one most injured in the long-running Robb-Wilder feud.
Wilder said he would try to make his plans clear by June so that he would have a year before any party nominating contest, either a convention or primary, to campaign if he decides to run for the Senate. He said he also wants other Robb opponents to have time to get organized if he decides not to run.
Keywords:
POLITICS