
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994                   TAG: 9406190099
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

WILDER IN RACE `TO STAY'

Former Democratic governor Douglas Wilder officially joined the extraordinary four-man race for the U.S. Senate in Virginia as an independent Saturday, adding his savvy campaign skills to what is likely to be one of this year's most contentious congressional races in the country.

Wilder told 200 supporters in a city park near where he grew up that "I don't want you to vote against anybody, and I am not running against anybody."

But he nonetheless used the occasion to take veiled swipes at two of his opponents, incumbent Democrat Charles Robb and Iran-Contra figure Oliver North, the Republican candidate. Former state attorney general Marshall Coleman also is running as an independent.

"For those who look for the mud and dirt to fly, look elsewhere," said Wilder, the grandson of slaves who became the nation's first elected black governor. "I will not stoop to further embarrass the people of our commonwealth. It is beneath me. . . . I will not discuss any candidate's personal problems with anyone, only the record and issues."

Standing in front of a banner that read "Wilder for the Senate: Proven, Principled Leadership," Wilder declared that Virginians "are unhappy with the way the state has become the butt of jokes from such jokesters as David Letterman, Jay Leno and Doonesbury's Garry Trudeau."

They have made fun of embarrassments in Robb's personal life and North's candidacy in light of his role in the arms-for-hostages scandal and his lying to Congress about it. Wilder, 63, noted that North recently applied to renew a permit to carry concealed weapons and runs a company that makes bulletproof vests, while Robb recently said he was putting on a flak jacket for protection in the nasty campaign ahead. "I don't need a flak jacket. I don't need a bulletproof vest. I don't need a pistol, because He is with me," Wilder said to cheers.

Wilder's announcement, largely a formality since he turned in the petition signatures Tuesday that he needed to get on the November ballot, marked a significant break with a party he served for a quarter-century.

He was elected as a Democrat to the state Senate for 16 years, served one term as lieutenant governor and kept the party in the governor's office with his historic election in 1989.

He was briefly a 1992 Democratic presidential candidate.

"In the past, Gov. Wilder has enjoyed the full support of the Democratic Party that has nominated him with enthusiasm and without opposition," Robb said. "I think he'll find this to be a very different ballgame."

Wilder traditionally has attracted virtually all of the state's black voters, but state Democratic Party Chairman Mark W. Warner said the party will not concede the black vote to him. "Every vote will be actively contested," he said.

Wilder, who twice before suggested he would enter the race only to change his mind, said Saturday, "I am in this race to stay."

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB