Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 9, 1994 TAG: 9408090101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLLINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The hotel, with a stucco windmill that looms over U.S. 220, has been the site of some of the most important breakthroughs in Wilder's political career.
It was here in 1985 that Wilder won the endorsement of then-House Speaker A.L. Philpott, a legendary - and conservative - local Democrat. Wilder was running for lieutenant governor, and Philpott's support was seen as proof that Virginia's old guard and new guard had finally wed.
In 1989, when Wilder was seeking to become the nation's first elected back governor, Philpott and about 200 local white Democrats jammed into the hotel.
Doug Wilder, independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, returned to the Dutch Inn on Monday, but the fanfare was absent. Most Democratic leaders, dismayed that Wilder has left the party, stayed home. Gone was Philpott, who died in 1991. Not a single white voter greeted the candidate.
Instead, Wilder held a quiet breakfast meeting with about 25 local black ministers and local politicians whom he is counting on to organize a huge turnout of black voters in this fall's election.
The meeting seems symbolic of the challenge that faces Wilder in his underdog campaign. His support among blacks appears strong, but without the support of the state's Democratic machinery, can he once again put together the coalition of white support he will need to win?
"The pundits have always asked that question, and I have always answered it decisively," Wilder said, pointing to his undefeated record in elections.
Wilder set out to recapture some of that old magic by embarking Saturday on a campaign tour across the state. Just as in 1985 and 1989, Wilder is traveling with two aides in a rented station wagon, promising to meet one-on-one with voters.
But the first three days of the tour were a stark reminder that this is a different campaign in a different year. In the past, Wilder always began his campaign in the rural southwest corner of the state. His rapport with working-class whites from the region set a tone of racial cohesion for his campaign.
The mood in the Southwest is not as friendly this time around. Local Democratic organizers, who once helped Wilder, say they are livid that he is running outside the party. Union members are disenchanted with Wilder's support of striker-replacement legislation.
This year, Wilder began in Farmville and worked his way across the tobacco fields of Southside Virginia, attending Sunday services in black churches and holding strategy sessions with the ministers.
It's a different campaign with a different strategy, Wilder explained. With four candidates in the Senate race, Wilder said black voters - who make up about 16 percent of the electorate - have more power than ever.
"If the African-American vote concentrates, dedicates and delivers, it can make victory possible this year," Wilder said.
Wilder was greeted warmly at each of the churches, signing scores of autographs and posing for pictures. At each stop Sunday, he tried to impress the congregations with the stake they have in his success. "When I see friends from the past, they frequently say that they're happy for the good fortune I've had in life," Wilder said. "I say it's not just me, it's us. This is not a `me' thing. It's a `we' thing."
Wilder did court votes from clusters of white voters, but received no promise of support. He met with a group of business leaders in Martinsville and briefly greeted workers in the cafeteria at a nearby furniture factory.
He predicted that he would win strong support from whites based on his record as a sound fiscal manager when he was governor from 1990 to 1994. He pointed out that many white businessmen in Richmond are raising money for his campaign. "It's there," he said. "You'll see it as the campaign winds on. People know who I am. They know I'm the only candidate this year with a record of accomplishment."
Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Martinsville, isn't so sure. Armstrong is one of the local whites who went to the Dutch Inn and cheered for Wilder in 1985 and 1989. This year, he stayed home.
"I'm certainly disappointed Doug has stayed in the race," said Armstrong, who is supporting incumbent U.S. Sen. Charles Robb, the Democratic nominee. "There are a lot of mainline Democrats who turned out for Doug in the past who feel the same way I do."
Wilder wistfully recalled the Dutch Inn meetings of 1985 and 1989. "It was a turning point for me," he said. "A.L. [Philpott] was a friend. He gave credibility I never had."
A moment later, Wilder acknowledged that he faces an uphill race. "That's because I don't have structured money and structured party support," he said. "But I've never known one of these races that wasn't uphill. At the proper point, things will converge."
Keywords:
POLITICS
Memo: ***CORRECTION***