ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 8, 1996 TAG: 9610080044
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Democratic Senate challenger Mark Warner has set a Virginia record for media spending in a Senate campaign, pouring roughly $5.2 million into TV advertising since June.
Most of Warner's spending to unseat Republican Sen. John Warner has come from his pocket.
Mark Warner eclipsed the record for television and radio spending set in 1994 by Oliver North. North, the Republican nominee that year, spent nearly $4 million for broadcast ads in his failed effort to oust Democratic Sen. Charles Robb.
Campaigning in the Roanoke Valley on Monday, John Warner suggested that his rival's decision to spend so much of his money was bad for the political process. "I just don't think it's the Virginia way," the incumbent said.
John Warner noted that he, too, is personally wealthy, but told a Hollins College class that "as a matter of principle, I will not put it into this race." Afterward, John Warner conceded he had used some of his money in his initial run for the Senate in 1978, but said that was an extraordinary circumstance because he belatedly became the GOP nominee after the original candidate, Richard Obenshain, was killed in a plane crash.
John Warner - who later attended a Republican fund-raiser at the Hotel Roanoke - said it was important for candidates to raise their own money as a way to show their broad-based support among Virginians. "How much do you know about Mark Warner?" he said. "The only thing you know is what you see on the television."
Although campaign finance reports will not be filed until later this month, Mark Warner's aides confirmed the $5.2 million figure, The Washington Post reported Monday. Much of the spending will become apparent over the next two weeks as the Democrat doubles his presence in some state TV markets.
John Warner has aired only one television ad in the general election so far but expects to put out more, said his media consultant, Greg Stevens. Stevens said Warner has spent about $360,000.
Sources in both campaigns said private polling data indicates Mark Warner, a multimillionaire telecommunications executive and former state Democratic chairman, has narrowed slightly the 20-point lead John Warner had in recent polls and attributed that to the Democrat's ad campaign.
But political experts said advertising alone cannot ensure success.
``You do have to spend enough to reach a threshold of credibility such that you get taken seriously by voters and reporters,'' said Darrell West, a Brown University political scientist who studies political ads. ``But just throwing a lot of money at television does not guarantee victory.''
Mark Warner has financed most of his campaign from his pocket. But Anita Rimler, his campaign manager, said he expects to raise $1.5 million from individual donations.
Staff writer Dwayne Yancey contributed to this report.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB