ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605310043
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Some 2,700 Republicans will converge on Salem this weekend for the state GOP convention. But the real focus will be on the Warner-Miller race for the party's U.S. Senate nomination, to be decided in a June 11 primary.
For months, Oliver North has sat on the sidelines as Virginia Republicans worked through a U.S. Senate primary campaign that has focused on him, even though his name is not on the June 11 ballot.
This weekend, the silence ends. North, the conservative Iran-Contra figure whose failed Senate campaign in 1994 polarized his party, will address the GOP convention in Salem.
It would surprise no one if North called for Republicans to oust U.S. Sen. John Warner in favor of former federal budget director Jim Miller. After all, the senator infuriated North's conservative flock by backing the independent candidate who drained away enough Republican votes to let Democratic Sen. Charles Robb keep his seat.
North had wrestled with whether to weigh in on the primary between Warner and Miller. He said conservative activists had been calling him daily, pleading with him to avenge Warner's action and lend his charisma to Miller's campaign.
``I want something that's going to raise a few rafters,'' North said of his speech.
Party leaders said Warner turned down a chance to speak at the two-day convention, which opens today at the Salem Civic Center.
Susan Magill, Warner's chief of staff, said she could find no written evidence of an invitation, although she acknowledged that Warner's staff had no desire to put him before a potentially hostile audience.
As of late Thursday, it was unclear whether Warner even plans to set foot in the convention hall, even though he plans campaign events in Roanoke and Salem today.
Warner's official schedule shows him appearing near the convention - although not at it. He's slated to speak to journalists outside the Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium, on the grounds of the Salem Civic Center, at 5:30 p.m., then attend the dedication of a veterans memorial at the stadium.
He'll also be the host at a hospitality suite tonight at the Hotel Roanoke, but apparently won't be at the convention's evening banquet. David Johnson, executive director of the state GOP, said Warner has not replied to an invitation to speak at the dinner.
One thing is certain, though: On Saturday, when the convention is in full swing, and North and Miller are speaking to some 2,700 Republicans from across the state, Warner will be elsewhere. His schedule shows him spending the day campaigning in Blacksburg, Weyers Cave and Charlottesville, instead.
The focus on the Senate race far overshadows the only real business of the convention, which is to elect a new state party chairman and other party officials.
Del. Randy Forbes of Chesapeake is likely to be elected chairman of Virginia's Republican Party. He is Gov. George Allen's hand-picked choice to succeed Patrick McSweeney, who was widely criticized as divisive during his four-year term as chairman.
Forbes, a low-key conservative, has pledged to improve the often-tense relations between the party's evangelical and moderate wings.
The party also will elect 20 delegates to the Republican National Convention, two representatives to fill seats on the Republican National Committee and two people to cast votes this fall in the Electoral College.
Staff writers Warren Fiske and Dwayne Yancey contributed to this report.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB