Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406160030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Wilder, 63, signed a declaration of candidacy at the State Board of Elections in the early afternoon and submitted the signatures of 35,000 Virginia voters to qualify as the fourth Senate candidate on November's ballot.
Saturday, the former Democratic governor is expected to formally declare his candidacy and his break with the political party that supported him for 25 years.
Wilder said his opponents - Robb, the winner of Tuesday's Democratic primary; Republican nominee Oliver North; and independent Marshall Coleman, a former Republican state attorney general - are out of touch with Virginians and have made the state ``the butt of jokes on late-night television.''
``I will gladly put my record of achievement and accountability up against any of them,'' said Wilder, who in 1989 became the nation's first elected black governor.
Wilder's candidacy is expected to cause hardship for Robb. Polls indicate that Wilder might receive at least 70 percent of the black vote, a former source of bedrock support for the incumbent senator.
Wilder and Robb have engaged in a bitter feud for almost nine years. The rivalry peaked in 1991 when Robb's staff leaked to reporters a tape of a private telephone conversation between Wilder and a political supporter. Wilder has said that the taping incident and reports of womanizing by Robb have made his rival ``unfit to hold office.''
But during a news conference Tuesday night, Wilder said he will stick to issues and not the integrity of Robb or any of his other Senate opponents.
``I will deal with records and issues, not personalities,'' he said. ``You know the facts [on integrity]. I've answered all the questions before. Ladies and gentlemen, this is it.''
Wilder said he was not impressed by Robb's victory with 58 percent of the vote in the four-way Democratic primary, pointing out that voter turnout was less than 10 percent.
``I would suggest that there was no enthusiasm,'' he said. ``The question is why so few voted. Aren't there more Democrats than that?''
Wilder said of North: ``I don't think he can be elected in Virginia. I don't think he represents the views of the majority in Virginia.''
He dismissed concerns by some of his supporters that even after he announces his candidacy, he might still drop out of the race later this summer if the going gets bad. Last year, Wilder said he ``intended'' to run in the Democratic primary for the Senate, then dramatically announced he would not be a candidate during his final address to the General Assembly.
``To the extent that I would file for the ballot as a candidate, it would be a totally inflexible decision,'' Wilder said. ``To the extent that I make an announcement [of candidacy], I would intend to stay in the race through the election.''
``I'm disappointed that Doug has chosen to run,'' said state Democratic Chairman Mark Warner. ``I think the Democratic party set up a very fair and inclusive process at his urging. If he was going to run, I wish he had run as a Democrat.''
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB