ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604150053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN AND PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITERS
Two more Republicans soon may join Giles County resident Patrick Muldoon in seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, in the Nov. 5 election.
Former state Del. Barnes Kidd of Tazewell County and Blacksburg native Thomas DeBusk are both strongly considering running, said Gary Waddell, 9th District Republican chairman.
Muldoon, a 30-year-old political newcomer, announced last month he was seeking the candidacy.
Kidd, 52, said Friday he will make a formal announcement of his intentions Monday.
Davey Stanley, a retired Army officer and lawyer living in Wythe County, had considered announcing but has decided not to run.
"Lots of personal reasons as to why," he said Friday, including the possibility that he might be moving away from the 9th District. Stanley organized the Veterans for North group in Oliver North's unsuccessful 1994 U.S. Senate campaign
"I'm going to support Thomas DeBusk over young Patrick Muldoon," Stanley said. DeBusk "is supported by activists in the Christian Coalition, same people pushing me. ... Of course I'll support Patrick if he gets the nomination." He said he has encouraged DeBusk to run.
DeBusk, 31, is a vice-chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party who worked as a staff member for Republican Steve Fast in Fast's unsuccessful race against Boucher two years ago. An employee of Virginia Tech's university relations office, DeBusk said Friday he is leaning toward announcing for the candidacy.
"I'm in the exploratory stage," he said. "But I strongly feel that we need an alternative, and a good one."
DeBusk said Boucher talks about the federal money he brings back to the district "but he doesn't talk about the debt ... and that's going on to the next generation." DeBusk said Congress needs members willing to take tough stands on budget issues and reduce the national debt.
If Kidd and DeBusk run, there will be at least three Republicans seeking the candidacy to challenge Boucher, Waddell said. "That's better than three months ago - it looked like we weren't going to have any."
Boucher, in his 14th year in Congress, has been raising money this year but usually does not go public with his campaign until the Democratic convention. That's set for May 11 in Abingdon.
That same day, Republicans in the 9th District will meet in Wytheville to pick their candidate.
Muldoon, a first-year law student at the College of William and Mary, formerly was a project engineer for the Department of Defense.
Muldoon supports term limits, welfare reform, the right to bear arms, middle-class tax relief and a balanced budget. He opposes "wholesale abortions" and affirmative action.
He has filed his campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission, which allows him to extend his fund-raising efforts beyond the $5,000 mark.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB