Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 31, 1994 TAG: 9405310024
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: dwayne yancey
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's June 14, the same date as the most famous Democratic primary in Virginia history - the so-called "upset of the century" where Henry Howell stunned Andrew Miller in the 1977 Democratic primary for governor.
There are some curious parallels between the Howell-Miller showdown and this year's Senate primary, in which incumbent Sen. Charles Robb finds himself challenged by state Sen. Virgil Goode, Sylvia Clute and Nancy Spannaus.
In both races, a dull, establishment candidate (Miller, in the case of 1977, Robb this time around) found himself facing a twangy-voiced populist (Howell then, Goode now).
Like Robb, Miller was presumed to be the overwhelming favorite.
Turnout was low, as this year's is expected to be. But Miller's supporters weren't especially motivated to vote; Howell's were. That's how Howell's upset came about - and how Goode's supporters hope to repeat the feat this time around.
There are, to be sure, some significant differences.
In 1977, labor and other special-interest groups that could be counted on to turn out their members were behind the liberal Howell. This time, they're generally sticking with Robb over the more conservative Goode.
Howell and Miller were also both well-known figures; Howell, a former lieutenant governor, had run for governor twice previously. Goode, by contrast, is a state legislator little known outside his district and the state Capitol.
One other difference, too. The biggest scandal in 1977 was the "revelation" that Miller's campaign was buying snacks for its staff members; Howell used it as a metaphor for painting Miller as the candidate of the rich and powerful.
As long ago as that was, consider how many of the figures in that 1977 race remain on the 1994 scene:
Robb was the party's candidate for lieutenant governor that year. Marshall Coleman, now being touted as an "independent Republican" should Oliver North be nominated by this year's GOP convention, was running for attorney general that year.
And a political strategist named Paul Goldman was about to make his reputation for masterminding Howell's upset. Where's Goldman now? Advising Goode.\ \ And in astronomy . . .
There was a rare alignment of the Virgil Goode and Jim Miller campaigns last week. Or was it the Charles Robb and Oliver North campaigns?
"I don't know what planet Senator Robb is campaigning on."
- Goode campaign manager Craig Beiber, responding to assertions by Robb advisers that voters don't care about the so-called character issue.
"What's the weather like on Jim Miller's planet?"
- spokesman Dan McLagen, responding to Miller's assertion that he's pulled ahead of North in the delegate count.\ \ The Wilder card
Don't know whether to take former Gov. Douglas Wilder's threat to run as an independent candidate for senator seriously?
Consider this: When Wilder let it be known he had hired staffers in preparation for a possible independent bid, the announcement went out on stationery headed "Doug Wilder for U.S. Senate."
Perhaps the most notable thing about Wilder's campaign staff-in-waiting, though, is who's not on it: His longtime strategist and confidante, Paul Goldman (yes, the same Paul Goldman of 1977 fame).
When Wilder dropped out of the Senate race in January, Goldman struck out on his own, and wound up recruiting Goode.
If Goode doesn't win the primary, though, look for Goldman - widely credited with developing the strategy that made Wilder the nation's first black elected governor - to show up again in the Wilder camp.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB