Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 26, 1993 TAG: 9304260064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN F. HARRIS and DONALD P. BAKER THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Interviews with about 30 local Democratic chairmen, senior legislators and party volunteers found virtually zero enthusiasm for a Wilder candidacy, even though many Democrats acknowledge that Robb's re-election prospects have been hurt by two years of legal and personal problems.
Democrats fear that a Robb-Wilder contest would be a political train wreck - a collision of personalities that would fracture the Democratic Party and help the Republicans.
Many Democrats say that if they're forced to choose, they'll stay loyal to the incumbent. Despite Robb's scars, they remain grateful to him for leading the rejuvenation that allowed Democrats to dominate state politics during the 1980s.
"Wilder ought to be mindful of the fact that without Robb, Wilder in all likelihood would not be in a position to even contemplate this candidacy," said Kenneth Geroe of Virginia Beach, the 2nd Congressional District chairman.
"I don't feel Robb is vulnerable," said Eve Wilson of McLean, 10th District chairwoman. "We've got 10 united counties in the 10th District behind him."
"There's a reservoir of goodwill for Senator Robb in this area," agreed John Edwards of Roanoke, 6th District chairman. "He's responsible for the emergence of the modern Democratic Party."
Only a few were less enthusiastic about Robb. "I'm not saying he's damaged goods, but he's been through a lot," said Carl U. Eggleston of Farmville, chairman in the 5th District. "He's got more baggage than you want."
Wilder "would certainly be a fine senator," Eggleston said.
Nearly half of the Democratic leaders who were interviewed would not express a preference, saying they want to keep focused on this fall's race for governor. A few said they would consider supporting Wilder if he runs for the Senate. But none said he or she is actively encouraging him to do it. Wilder has said he will decide by June whether to challenge Robb.
The governor's press secretary, Glenn Davidson, dismissed the importance of the opinions of party leaders, saying Wilder's support "always has been with the people, not with the pols and the pundits." Davidson said many of those who are urging Wilder not to run are the same people who tried to block his nomination for lieutenant governor in 1985 and gave him, "at best, tepid" support for governor four years ago.
But there seems to be a difference. In previous races, many party leaders were skeptical that Wilder could win in a state with a long history of racism - but nearly all of them ultimately backed his candidacy. This time, many Democrats said they would work openly against him.
Moreover, even some members of Wilder's core constituency - black Democrats - say they are discouraged by the prospect of a nasty fight with Robb.
"I'd rather see him take on [GOP Sen.] John Warner, quite frankly," said Joseph C. Lindsey of Hopewell, the party's 3rd Congressional District chairman, who is black. "You don't want to see even the possibility of division."
"I have an immense amount of respect for Doug Wilder, and as an African-American I would love to send a representative to the U.S. Senate," said Anthony McCarthy, chairman of the state's Young Democrats. "But as a Democrat, I would love to see this worked out" without a struggle for the party's nomination.
"I believe it would be a blood bath, forcing the party to choose between these two great guys," said McCarthy, who has been a volunteer for Wilder and was briefly on Robb's staff.
Even if Wilder could excite grass-roots support, the hostility of party leaders to his candidacy would be a formidable obstacle because they control nominating rules. They also influence the rank-and-file Democrats who will decide the nomination.
The party's state central committee will choose whether a Senate nominee will be picked in a primary or through a convention. Party leaders differ about which method would benefit a Wilder challenge.
Many Democrats said they are worried that a bloody Robb-Wilder brawl would distract attention from more pressing business - electing Mary Sue Terry as governor and supporting the rest of the Democratic ticket.
"I don't even want to think about '94," said John McGlennon of Williamsburg, the 1st Congressional District chairman. "The more attention we focus on '94, the more it distracts from a tough, important race in '93."
Rayma Miles, a retired teacher and longtime Democratic volunteer from Fairfax County, is similarly disappointed by the Robb-Wilder feud. She says their fight is an embarrassment, and she holds them equally responsible.
"I feel like I've been punched in the belly," Miles said. "I really thought we were on a roll for a while. . . . Right now, I'm sitting on the fence, and that's not my nature. The party is bigger than these two men."
State Sen. Charles Waddell, D-Loudoun County, also said he is pained by the prospect of choosing between two men he calls "giants in Virginia politics."
"There are times when Virginia Democrats have a tendency to form our firing lines in a circle," he said.
Waddell was one of the first state senators to back Wilder for statewide office in 1985. Even so, he said he's sticking with Robb.
"I'm not prepared to toss Chuck Robb into the dump heap of history at this point," Waddell said. "It breaks my heart, all that Chuck and [his wife] Lynda have been through, a lot of it, I guess, self-imposed."
Such sentiments highlight one of the ironies of the Robb-Wilder clash. Robb's office came under federal grand jury investigation for its handling of an illegal tape recording of a Wilder phone call, and three of Robb's staff members pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. But many senior Democrats seem more bothered by Wilder's complaining about the incident than by Robb's connection with it.
"I'm upset that all this stuff [with the tape] happened, but it doesn't involve me," said Del. Lewis Parker, D-South Hill, a Robb supporter.
As for Wilder, Parker said, "I don't appreciate negative campaigning, and when I hear the governor say Chuck's a liar and not fit to serve, I find that abrasive."
House Speaker Thomas Moss, D-Norfolk, also said he supports Robb and understands his troubles, including allegations that he had an extramarital affair with beauty queen Tai Collins.
"Let he without sin cast the first stone," Moss said.
Fairfax County party volunteer Robert A. Rogers is encouraging Wilder's candidacy - but not as a Democrat. "I hope he runs as an independent," said Rogers, who says a fight against Robb would be "self-destructive to the party."
Because of Robb's problems and because a fight with Wilder would likely be such a poisonous ordeal, some Democrats speculate that there might be an opening for a third candidate, such as former Gov. Gerald Baliles or Lt. Gov. Donald Beyer, to come in as a peacekeeper.
"That would certainly get my attention," Parker said. "I support them as enthusiastically - or maybe more so - than I do Chuck."
Also considering a run for the Democratic nomination is Richmond lawyer Sylvia Clute, a longtime advocate of women's rights and a relative political unknown. She's raising money to pay for a poll to measure potential support.
The vast majority of Democrats interviewed, however, said it would be far-fetched to suggest that anyone other than Robb or Wilder might be the nominee.
George Rawlings Jr. of Fairfax County, Democratic chairman in the 8th Congressional District, doesn't see an opening for Baliles or Beyer.
"I don't know what Governor Wilder is going to do," Rawlings said. "I'm hopeful he won't get into it. Chuck's been doing a good deal to get around, rehabilitating his situation. . . . If Chuck is running, he'll probably be nominated."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB