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

DATE: SATURDAY, November 5, 1994                   TAG: 9411070043
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                 LENGTH: Medium

2 PARTIES: DON'T VOTE COLEMAN

Republican Gov. George Allen and state Democratic Party Chairman Mark Warner seldom agree, but they had the same message Friday for voters in next week's U.S. Senate election: Don't vote for independent Marshall Coleman.

In separate news conferences at the state Capitol, Allen - backing GOP nominee Oliver North - and Warner - supporting incumbent Sen. Charles Robb - both cited a recent newspaper editorial cartoon that showed a voter standing by ballot boxes marked North and Robb and a trash can labeled Coleman.

``A vote for Marshall Coleman is indirectly a vote for Oliver North,'' Warner said. ``A vote for Coleman could be a wasted vote.''

Asked about Coleman voters an hour later, Allen said, ``I personally think they're wasting their vote.''

``Those Republicans who are for Coleman ought to come home and vote for our nominee,'' the governor said.

Coleman, not surprisingly, had a different message at his news conference in Northern Virginia:

``Virginia voters are too smart to be swayed by pathetic appeals to cast strategic votes simply to help one or the other of the defective major-party candidates defeat his evil twin.

``I don't believe Virginia voters will vote for someone they can't abide just to prevent the election of someone they can't stomach.''

Told of the comments by Warner and Allen, Coleman campaign manager Anson Franklin said: ``They both feel threatened by us. They must see the same movement we see.''

Warner brought up independent polls this week that show Coleman taking away more votes from Robb than from North. The polls showed Robb and North with about 36 percent each and Coleman attracting about 16 percent of voters.

``While they have principled reasons to support Marshall Coleman, the fact is that Marshall Coleman got into this race to prevent Oliver North's election,'' Warner said. ``And here, four days out, he is perhaps serving as Oliver North's biggest ally.''

Allen directed his comments at Republicans inclined to support Coleman, a former GOP state attorney general, because they think he would vote with Republicans in the Senate.

Their support of North could make a difference in ``a neck-and-neck race,'' he said.

Allen said Republicans need to win two out of three close races in Virginia, Pennsylvania and California to capture control of the Senate.

Keywords:
POLITICS

by CNB