Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 6, 1993 TAG: 9311060101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
\ On the heels of winning the governorship for the first time in 16 years, Virginia Republican leaders are venting anger at the one politician they consistently were able to elect during the dry spell - U.S. Sen. John Warner.
At issue is Warner's refusal to endorse Mike Farris, the GOP's unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor.
Warner embraced Farris' running mates, Gov.-elect George Allen and Attorney General-elect Jim Gilmore. A similar endorsement in the lieutenant governor's race, many party leaders argued Friday, would have given Farris instant credibility in rebutting incumbent Democrat Don Beyer's charges that he was a religious-right extremist.
Republican leaders also questioned the senator's party loyalty. They said that Warner, as the GOP's senior elected official, had an obligation to support all Republican nominees.
After winning divisive nominating contests for governor and attorney general, Allen and Gilmore were able to unify the party behind their respective candidacies. But Farris struggled. In addition to a lack of help from Warner, he was hurt by the formation a "Republicans for Beyer" group in October.
Farris, who captured 46 percent of the vote, is Warner's most vocal critic. In his concession speech Tuesday night, he suggested that he might oppose Warner for the 1996 GOP Senate nomination.
In an interview Friday, Farris said he would have won the election if Warner had backed him. "I have had literally hundreds of people come to me and say they're livid about what the senator did," he said. "His actions gave legitimacy to Beyer's claim that I was out of touch."
Anne Kincaid, an anti-abortion activist and former political organizer for religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, said Warner may have "mortally wounded" his standing with the party's conservative wing.
"He has shot himself in the foot," she said. "His conduct was abominable."
Warner, who could not be reached for comment, never has been a favorite of the right wing. Conservatives have long groused about his defense of abortion rights, his opposition to the nomination of Robert Bork for the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987, and his chumminess with Democrats such as Gov. Douglas Wilder and U.S. Sen. Charles Robb.
Warner declined to endorse Farris in mid-September, disagreeing with Farris' strong opposition to abortion and gun control. "I always put principles over politics," he explained. Farris quickly met with Warner in Washington, hoping to change the senator's mind.
But Warner apparently was unimpressed. In an Oct. 8 statement, he merely urged Virginians to "listen" to Farris and "make up our own minds."
Unconfirmed rumors swirled around Richmond on Friday that the GOP's State Central Committee may try to censure Warner at a meeting this winter. "That's not coming from me," Farris said. "But if I'm called on, I will come and testify."
One Richmond television station quoted state GOP Chairman Patrick McSweeney on Thursday as saying he would not be surprised by a censure effort. On Friday, McSweeney did not return phone calls, and a state Republican spokesman said the party apparatus is "trying to keep a lid on things."
Some Republicans said a censure would be a bad idea, arguing that the party should not endanger the Senate seat Warner has held since 1979. "I would rather keep Senator Warner up there than take the risk of replacing him," said David M. Hummell, a conservative who is GOP chairman of the Second Congressional District in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
The incident with Farris is in line with Warner's history of declining to take a leadership role in state party affairs. Some Republicans say his posture suggests an indifference by the senator to races in which he is not a candidate.
"John Warner has proven not to be tuned in and sensitive to developments within the Republican Party," said Joseph Elton, former executive director of the state GOP and consultant to all-but-announced 1994 Senate candidate Oliver North. ". . . It's not surprising that he's out of touch, because he's been uninterested in party affairs over the last decade.
"I don't know how serious this is, but it's clear he's in hot water with some members of the party," Elton added.
Keywords:
POLITICS ELECTION
by CNB