ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606260047
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: The Washington Post|
U.S. Senate challenger Mark Warner beat incumbent Sen. John Warner, R-Va., on Tuesday in their first head-to-head confrontation: a lottery that determined Mark Warner's name will appear first on the ballot this November.
Ordinarily, no one would pay a moment's notice to the candidates' ballot ranking. But in the all-Warner Senate race, the top position could bring extra votes, some party officials and campaign observers believe.
``Obviously, we're in the superior position, as we expect to be on Election Day,'' said Bert Rohrer, spokesman for the state Democratic Party. ``It's good news for Mark Warner.''
Under Virginia law, the ballot will not identify which Warner is the incumbent, or the Republican or the Democrat. And so, some say, the first Warner listed is the one most likely to benefit from any voter confusion.
The State Board of Elections holds the lottery every election cycle, but this one drew unusually heavy attention. Both campaigns sent staff members to observe the proceeding, as did the state Democratic Party.
Board members put the parties' names on white slips of paper, sealed them in small plastic film containers, then swirled them around in a clear, cut-glass candy bowl. The drawing would determine the order of each party's candidates in the presidential, U.S. Senate and U.S. House races.
The first party picked was the Virginia Independence Party, soon to be renamed the Reform Party. The Democrats came in second, followed by the Republicans.
While the Reform Party, organized by Texas billionaire Ross Perot, is set to nominate a presidential candidate in August, it has not filed a Senate nominee, so Mark Warner is assured of the top ballot spot.
He quipped that his ranking was surely worth ``one or two [percentage] points'' on Election Day. His campaign spokesman, Eric Hoffman, ventured only: ``Sure, it's always nice to be first. ... If you've got to pick one or the other, you pick to go first.''
John Warner said through his campaign manager, John Hishta, that he was ``very pleased to have drawn the powerful position as cleanup batter for Virginia.''
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB