ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 1, 1996 TAG: 9606030064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SALEM
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE AND ROBERT LITTLE STAFF WRITERS
note: above
GOP DELEGATES will conduct a straw poll today, which may serve as an outlet for venting anger at Senator John Warner.
State Republican leaders will not be deprived of their chance to rebuke U.S. Sen. John Warner at their state convention today.
Amid much infighting, delegates voted Friday to conduct a straw poll today on the convention's preference in the June 11 Republican Primary. "It's a big victory for us," said William Kling, a spokesman for Jim Miller, Warner's opponent in the race.
Miller seems certain to win the poll, and his advisers say they are hoping news of the results will energize his cash-strapped campaign during the final week.
Many party activists have been angry at Warner for his refusal to support two recent Republican statewide nominees: Mike Farris for lieutenant governor in 1993 and Oliver North for the Senate in 1994. They blame Warner for both candidates' defeats in general elections.
This week's convention might have ended Warner's three-term career in the Congress had the senator not invoked an obscure state law and insisted that the nomination be held in a primary open to all voters.
Although Warner made appearances in Salem and Roanoke on Friday, he did not set foot on the convention floor. He spoke at the dedication of the veterans' memorial at Salem Memorial Stadium, and also had a Roanoke SPCA-arranged meeting with Pugsy, the dog he's helping reunite with his military owner in Germany.
Warner said he was not invited to the convention, a charge denied by outgoing state Republican Party Chairman Patrick McSweeney.
The straw poll, McSweeney said, would be "therapeutic and cathartic" for activists who are angry at Warner. Many delegates said the poll would give the public a clear reading of the party's preference before the primary.
Holding the poll was approved by a 58 percent vote of the convention. Warner supporters and many delegates who are neutral said the poll was divisive and could embarrass the party if Warner ends up winning the primary.
"The Democrats will have a field day if they can say our nominee isn't even supported by our party," said Don Duncan, Republican chairman of the 6th Congressional District that includes Roanoke. Duncan is neutral in the race.
Warner dismissed the straw poll as the "last hurrah" orchestrated by McSweeney, who is supporting Miller. He said the convention delegates are out of step with the public.
"The important race is June 11," he said. "There are roughly 700,000 people in this state who share Republican goals, and how many of them are at the convention?''
But many Miller supporters were delighted by the prospect of the convention taking a stand against Warner. "This is who would be walking out of here with the nomination had we been able to" nominate a Senate candidate by convention, said Roanoke County GOP activist Trixie Averill. "But since we're being robbed and not able to do that, and since the vote on June 11 won't be a pure vote, because our senator has called on Democrats to vote, we're having to do this. We want to say `this is who the Republicans want.'''
Also during today's convention, the party is expected to nominate Chesapeake Del. Randy Forbes as its next chairman and hold elections for a variety of party posts. Delegates also will hear a speech from North - his first to the state GOP since losing the U.S. Senate contest. North has declined to say whether he plans to criticize Warner for opposing his candidacy in 1994.
The Warner campaign managed to sound a positive note Friday with the announcement that presumed GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole and Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will appear at a Warner fund-raiser Saturday in McLean. Both Dole and Powell already have endorsed Warner.
Staff writer Dwayne Yancey contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshots of Miller and Warner KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB