Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 3, 1993 TAG: 9311030252
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
After a 12-year wait, there was little suspense for Republicans on Tuesday. The news came nearly the moment the polls closed - George Allen and James Gilmore were runaway winners for governor and attorney general.
"I can't believe it! I can't believe it,' said Katie Ward, a long-time Republican activist from Richmond. "This has been so long in coming."
Michael Farris' defeat in the race for lieutenant governor hardly put a damper on the evening.
More than 1,000 Republicans crammed into the Hotel Jefferson to share the taste of victory. It almost seemed that the GOP had forgotten how to throw a victory celebration. The hotel ballroom was too small to accommodate the overflow crowd and many had to stand by hallway television sets to watch the victory speeches.
Inside the packed ballroom, drinks were flowing, a band played rock 'n' roll, and long-suffering Republicans were consumed in self-congratulations. Unlike other years, when conservative and moderate wings of the party fought bitterly, this year they pulled together.
"I think we matured as a party," state GOP Chairman Patrick McSweeney said. "People were tired of losing. . . . We tried every management approach to get people together early and we were successful."
And, noting the ineffective campaign waged by Democrat Mary Sue Terry and voter disapproval of leading Democrats such as President Bill Clinton, Gov. Douglas Wilder and U.S. Sen. Charles Robb, McSweeney added, "some of it was damn luck."
Four years ago, Republicans were wondering if they could ever stop their losing streak. On Tuesday, they were predicting they would gain control of both houses of the General Assembly by 1995.
"We're going to get it," said Gary Byler, a Virginia Beach lawyer, noting that the increasing suburban growth in Virginia favors Republicans. "It's just a question of when."
House Minority Leader Vance Wilkins, R-Amherst, could barely contain his glee. He predicted "unprecedented power" for Republicans with Allen as governor and strong minorities in both houses to uphold gubernatorial vetoes.
"If the Democrats try to block the governor and create gridlock, it won't sit well with voters," Wilkins said. "George has got the bully pulpit and he can take it to them in the 1995 elections."
When Allen won the GOP nomination in June, political scientists were quick to predict another catastrophe for the party. It was widely believed that the entire Republican ticket would be stigmatized by the conservative Christian politics of Farris.
But Allen managed to keep conservative and moderate Republicans happy and to shrug off Democratic attempts to use Farris against the whole ticket. He embraced Farris as an able running mate but rarely appeared with him on the stump and was quick to point out where they disagreed.
Allen also avoided a pitfall of other recent Republican gubernatorial candidates by refusing to stake out an ironclad position against abortion rights. He pleased conservatives by supporting a 24-hour waiting period and a law that would require parents to be notified before an unmarried teen-ager could end a pregnancy. But he fuzzed his position on tougher restrictions, saying that he would base such a decision on future scientific findings about fetal viability.
Allen also seemed to master symbolic issues that resonated with the public. Terry was thought to have an advantage on crime issues because she favored popular gun control measures Allen opposed. Allen overcame that problem by advocating longer prison sentences, making a pledge to abolish parole the centerpiece of his campaign.
Allen also pledged to block any tax increase, eliminate waste and make welfare recipients work for their benefits.
His uncomplicated, Teflon style often resembled that of Ronald Reagan. Asked how he could he implement all of his programs without raising taxes, Allen more than once responded with a Reaganesque: "Just watch me."
Allen also borrowed a page from Bill Clinton's successful campaign for the presidency. He promised to be an agent of "honest change" after 12 years of "stolid, stagnant" Democratic rule. He harvested voter resentment of incumbents, brought on by a stagnant economy and the incessant public feuding between Wilder and Robb.
When seeking the GOP nomination, Allen was dismissed by party rivals as "Boy George," a political lightweight with little to show for nine years in the General Assembly and one in Congress. But he proved an able campaigner with a pleasant, guileless personality that charmed voters.
He also was lucky. Terry's campaign lacked focus. Discontent with Clinton, Robb and Wilder accrued to his advantage. And the warring conservative and moderate factions of the Republican Party seemed to unite behind him, something they'd not done for GOP candidates in 12 years.
"There was something on the ticket for everyone," said M. Boyd Marcus, a consultant who ran Marshall Coleman's unsuccessful bid for the governorship in 1989. Marcus said Allen's message appealed to moderate Republicans and independents while Farris' presence kept the interest of conservatives.
Republicans said they hoped the lessons of Allen's campaign will pay dividends in 1995, when they hope to take control of the General Assembly. "I predict it's going to happen," said Joe Elton, a former executive director of the state Republican Party. "Having a governor in office is going to help our fund raising and our candidate recruitment."
Marcus, however, said there is no guarantee of a Republican juggernaut.
"Winning this year is no guarantee that we'll win next year. This reminds Republicans that we can win when we get our acts together and reminds Democrats that they will lose if they coast."
Keywords:
ELECTION
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.