Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411080032
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NEWPORT NEWS DAILY PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Robb would win 39 percent of the vote, compared with 31 percent for North. Independent candidate Marshall Coleman would earn 12 percent, and another 16 percent are undecided, the poll shows.
Those numbers appear inconsistent with several other polls conducted in the last few days that show the race to be a virtual dead heat.
But if true, the new survey would mark the first time either party nominee had pulled far ahead of the other.
A Mason-Dixon poll late last week detected new momentum for Robb after months of stagnation, but it said Robb led North only by a statistically insignificant 1 percent.
North spent Saturday morning engaged in some psychological warfare designed to dismiss the new poll results.
At a Richmond news conference, he told reporters he ``never felt better'' about his chances on Tuesday and added, ``Let me for the first time give you my prediction: We will win this race by not less than 3 points.''
Robb, in a later interview, said of North's prediction: ``I think that's what you do when you see it slipping away. It has the same credibility problem that most of the other things he said have.''
Robb stopped short of agreeing with the new poll numbers but said his campaign clearly has been picking up steam in the last few days.
``It's all been going in the same direction,'' he said. ``But we're not taking anything for granted.''
North aides insisted the new poll was simply ``wacky'' because it does not reflect the findings of several other independent polls and the campaign's own internal tracking. ``Every now and then, you get a joker out of the deck,'' said Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican National Committee, who attended North's news conference.
Barbour said he expects North to win because of the North campaign's extensive voter-turnout operation. That effort is being aided by Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition, which was expected to distribute more than 1million ``voter guides'' on the Senate race in churches and other public places by Tuesday.
``Our people are fired up,'' Barbour said. ``They're fed up with Washington.''
Despite his distant third-place showing in the polls, Coleman managed to maintain an upbeat attitude.
``I think the polls are looking up,'' he said as he pumped the hand of a well-wisher. Coleman repeatedly has declared he would stay in the race to the end, even in the face of bad poll numbers.
When he crossed paths with Robb before the Urbanna Oyster Festival parade Saturday, Coleman said he asked Robb, ``Are you staying in?''
``Typical Marshall humor,'' Robb dryly remarked later.
Earlier, the crowd at the Norfolk State University homecoming parade, which was overwhelmingly black, reacted politely but not especially warmly to the candidates. However, Norfolk firefighter Roberto Lovick shouted some encouragement to Robb: ``You're going to pull it out.
``I've got six people in my family, and we're all voters,'' Lovick said. ``He's definitely six ahead now.''
``Ollie North is just a made-for-TV movie,'' Lovick said. ``That's all he is.''
William Jones, a self-employed concrete worker, said he would definitely be voting for Robb at 6 Tuesday morning, before he goes to work. ``I think he's 100 percent,'' Jones said.
If there are long lines, Jones said, ``I'll just have to be late for work.''
Turnout is expected to be crucial in this election, in part because it appears to be close and also because the North campaign claims a huge turnout effort.
Asked how he would answer the North campaign's effort, Robb said, ``With lots and lots and lots of volunteers.''
Today, Gov. George Allen is scheduled to crisscross the state with North and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas for a series of rallies designed to pump up supporters and increase Republican voter turnout.
Robb will attend church services this morning in Norfolk and Virginia Beach and then fly to the far southwestern corner of the state, a traditional Democratic stronghold, for four campaign rallies.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB