Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 4, 1993 TAG: 9304040068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KENT JENKINS JR. THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROBB TESTS WATER, AND IT'S TEPID
Sen. Charles Robb, anticipating a bitter challenge from his fellow Democrat, Gov. Douglas Wilder, got only mixed results when he took the unusual step of seeking support from Virginia's Democratic members of Congress 20 months before the election.Sources said that during the end of March, in private meetings that Robb requested, four of the state's seven Democratic House members agreed to endorse him. Three would not make a commitment to Robb. None said they would actively support Wilder.
Political analysts said the response shows that Robb's standing has been damaged by years of controversy over his personal life and his feuding with Wilder, but that the senator still retains some loyalty among party regulars. The reaction to Robb's early effort to corral party leaders contrasts sharply with his Senate campaign in 1988, when senior Democrats were virtually unanimous in urging Robb to run.
"That Robb is even going to these [House members] means he feels a certain degree of uncertainty about his nomination," said Mark J. Rozell, a political scientist at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg. "His stock has declined enough that he cannot take their support for granted."
Analysts also said the absence of firm support for Wilder underscores the problems the governor faces if he decides to take on Robb. Wilder has feuded with several senior Democrats during his term, and many remain estranged from him. At two least House members who endorsed Robb, including Northern Virginia Rep. Leslie Byrne, have had run-ins with Wilder.
"Everyone knows that Wilder has had a rocky relationship with the leaders of his own party," Rozell said. "If he has a chance at all [to win the party's nomination], it has to come from his running as an outsider and going outside the party elders."
Peggy Wilhide, a spokeswoman for Robb, said that "those were private meetings" and she declined to comment on them.
Glenn Davidson, a spokesman for Wilder, also declined to comment.
Wilder has said he will decide by June whether he will run for the Senate, but he has launched several scathing attacks on Robb. Wilder has called Robb unfit to serve in the Senate and said he sees little difference between Robb and a potential Republican candidate for the job, Iran-Contra figure Oliver North.
For the meetings, Robb took the unusual step of going to the House members' offices. Under Capitol Hill protocol, representatives usually meet with senators on their turf.
Along with Byrne, the sources said, the lawmakers who agreed to endorse Robb are Rick Boucher of Abingdon, L.F. Payne of Nelson County and Owen Pickett of Virginia Beach. Those who took no position are James Moran of Alexandria, Robert C. Scott of Newport News and Norman Sisisky of Petersburg.
At each session, Robb said he believes he will win his party's nomination, sources said; and at several of the meetings, he said he thinks Wilder ultimately will decide not to challenge him. Robb did not say why.
In some of the meetings, Robb was visibly uncomfortable and hesitated as he explained his campaign plans, sources said. They said some lawmakers offered their support to Robb even though he seemed reluctant to ask for it.
Virginia's seven House Democrats have a strong personal interest in who their party chooses as its Senate nominee. They are the only Democratic candidates who will be on the statewide ballot with that candidate. The outcome of the Senate race could influence the direction of their elections.
Boucher, who plans to sponsor a fund-raiser for Robb soon, said he endorsed Robb in part because he believes Robb is the strongest Senate candidate Democrats can field. "Chuck's very popular in my district," Boucher said. "I'll be very pleased to be on a ticket with him in '94."
Along with Robb's meetings with House members, there are other indications that he is putting his re-election effort into high gear.
Robb made no attempt to raise campaign money in 1991 and 1992, and he began the year with a treasury that was virtually empty. Sources close to Robb said fund raising will be one of his top priorities in the next three months.
The senator has been dogged by reports that he attended Virginia Beach parties where cocaine was used and that he had a sexual relationship with a former Miss Virginia USA, Tai Collins, both of which he denies. He was a target of a federal grand jury investigation into an illegal tape recording of a Wilder car-phone call, but was not indicted.
Keywords:
POLITICS