Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 17, 1994 TAG: 9408170091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ALEC KLEIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Warner has written a fund-raising letter to 15,000 supporters that casts independent candidate Marshall Coleman as the true GOP candidate against incumbent Sen. Charles Robb.
``I simply cannot ask you ... to put your trust and confidence in Oliver North,'' Warner wrote. ``That's why I'm supporting Marshall Coleman to give you a choice of Republicans.''
Warner's insistence on backing Coleman, a former GOP state attorney general, has put added pressure on rank-and-file Republicans who must decide between their party's nominee and their fidelity to Warner, widely considered Virginia's most popular politician. Even more, Warner appears to be courting a standoff between himself and party officials.
``I'm not going to make Warner important enough to respond to it [his letter]. He's not a Republican,'' said Patrick McSweeney, chairman of the state GOP. ``Sen. Warner is going to have to come back and explain to Republicans ... why he should be nominated'' for re-election.
Several months ago, Warner left open the possibility of running as an independent in 1996. But in his letter, being mailed out this week, Warner said, ``I will exercise my right, pursuant to Virginia law, to take on any and all challengers, fair and square, with a Republican primary in the spring of the 1996 election year.''
Warner's letter comes at a time when Coleman's fortunes appear to be flagging; the independent candidate trails badly in fund raising and in opinion polls.
Capitalizing on Warner's letter, Coleman campaign manager C. Anson Franklin said, ``I think the message in this is, Marshall Coleman is a lifelong Republican who would bring Virginia values and a Republican philosophy to voting in the Senate.''
The North camp seemed unimpressed.
``Republicans don't want to throw away their vote on a three-time loser,'' said North spokesman Mark Merritt, referring to Coleman's unsuccessful bids for governor and lieutenant governor.
Merritt was more careful in addressing Warner.
``Oliver North has never had an unkind word to say about John Warner,'' Merritt said. ``John Warner is, you know, he's on his own on this one. He's become a leader with no followers.''
Warner's letter could be one of the first pre-emptive strikes before Labor Day, when campaigns traditionally kick into high gear. Already, political strategists are drawing up different scenarios in a race that could turn nasty before then.
``If North starts to gain, it will force the other candidates to engage earlier,'' said Paul Goldman, former Democratic Party state chairman.
``If Robb and North pull ahead, as I suspect they are, then Robb goes after North and North goes after Robb,'' said J. Scott Leake, director of the Joint Republican Caucus.
The question, strategists say, is who will strike first.
With an established political base, former Gov. Douglas Wilder, a Democrat running as an independent, ``may be the first to go negative because he probably sees himself with the least to lose,'' said J. Bradford Coker, president of Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research.
Wilder already has issued some scathing comments. For example, in a recent fund-raiser, Wilder began, ``Five of the most frightening words in American politics today may be, `United States Senator Oliver North.'''
The Wilder camp, however, insists it is only highlighting the differences between the candidates.
``The governor has never conducted a negative campaign,'' said campaign manager Glenn Davidson. ``He's always been positive, but he's always responded to charges leveled against him.''
The other candidates also have left open the door to be more aggressive.
``On the conduct of the campaign,'' said Robb spokesman Bert Rohrer, ``... I think too much remains to be seen.''
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB