ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO POLITICS CONGRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
Businessman Mark Warner has racked up a substantial lead over two political opponents in signing delegates to support him this spring for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.
Warner has registered three times as many candidates for delegate as his closest opponent, former Rep. Leslie Byrne, according to figures released Tuesday by the state Democratic Party.
With about 60 percent of the state reporting, Warner has filed the names of 2,631 people who are seeking to become delegates in his behalf at the Democratic state convention in June. Byrne filed a slate of 879 delegates, and Nancy Spannaus - a supporter of extremist Lyndon LaRouche - listed 106 delegates.
Reports from Democratic committees in the rest of the state are expected to be filed today.
The delegates will seek election to the state convention at a series of local Democratic caucuses to be held around the state Saturday and Monday. Essentially, the candidate who turns out the most supporters at each meeting will get his or her delegates elected.
A total of 3,500 delegates will be elected to the June 7-8 state convention in Hampton. Votes by at least 1,751 delegates win the nomination.
Warner's success in signing up delegates suggests that he has a broader and deeper base of support across the state than does Byrne. In South Hampton Roads, Warner has filed more than six delegates to every one of Byrne's. In Roanoke, he holds a 3-to-1 lead.
Even in Fairfax County, which Byrne represented in Congress in 1993 and 1994, Warner held a 2-to-1 lead in delegate filings.
Byrne said the delegate filings are only the first in a series of steps toward the convention. She questioned whether Warner will be able to turn out enough supporters at the mass meetings to get his delegates elected.
"For three years he's been declaring victory for this seat, and it's just not true," Byrne said.
Warner, a former state Democratic party chairman, said he was gratified by his support but declined to declare victory.
The Democratic candidates met in Virginia Beach on Tuesday afternoon to participate in the only scheduled debate of the campaign. Byrne and Warner expressed agreement on a host of major issues. They called for increasing the minimum wage; spending more on education and early intervention programs such as Head Start; and protecting Social Security and Medicaid. They denounced corporate greed and layoffs.
Despite their widespread agreement on issues, Byrne said her two years in Congress and seven years in the House of Delegates enable her to "articulate our differences with the Republicans better than anyone else."
Warner, who has made a fortune in the cellular phone industry, said his understanding of technology and the changes it is forcing on the workplace make him the best candidate for the future.
Warner said during the debate that, if elected, he would propose a $10,000 tax deduction for middle-class families seeking to pay college tuitions or for technical training. Later, he was unable to provide any details about how his plan might work.
"Let me get back to you on that," he said.
The Senate seat is occupied by three-term incumbent John Warner, who is in a battle for the Republican nomination against Jim Miller, a former federal budget director.
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