ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
VIRGINIA CHOSE THE EX-SENATOR by 2 percentage points, leaving the GOP's record since 1968 intact.
Bob Dole had one consolation Tuesday: He carried the Old Dominion.
Dole preserved a streak by Republican presidential candidates dating back to Richard Nixon in 1968.
``We have done our job in the commonwealth of Virginia for Bob Dole,'' declared Virginia Gov. George Allen, much to the delight of 400 Republicans gathered in a Falls Church hotel ballroom.
Dole's narrow margin in a Republican safe-bet like Virginia, however, was a sure sign he was in trouble nationwide.
The former Kansas senator captured 47 percent of the Virginia vote, just 2 percentage points ahead of President Clinton's 45 percent. Reform Party nominee Ross Perot had 7 percent.
In carrying the state, Dole still allowed Democrats room to celebrate; Tuesday's results were the closest in the Old Dominion since a Southern Democrat, Jimmy Carter, came within a hair of carrying the state against Gerald Ford in 1976.
``It's a reflection of the national mandate the president has gotten that he got such tremendous support in Virginia,'' said Chuck Dolan, state chairman of the Clinton campaign. ``A year ago, nobody thought Clinton would be in play in October, let alone on Election Day.''
Pocketbook issues boosted Clinton across the state.
Many voters did not buy Dole's claim that the Clinton administration had botched the economy. Three-fourths of voters surveyed said they thought Virginia's economy was as good or better than it was four years ago, according to an exit poll conducted by The Associated Press and Voter News Service.
Phillip Layman, a union pipefitter from Pulaski County, said he voted for Clinton because he no longer has to leave the state to find work.
``People are working and people are making money, and that's what it all boils down to,'' Layman said.
Kathy Easterbrook, a housewife from Forest, agreed: ``I chose Clinton because I like the job he's done the past four years. He's got issues that I think are irrelevant as far as Whitewater and those other scandals. To me, that doesn't matter."
Dole also was hurt by a tepid reaction in suburbs across the state. Turnout was down in some key GOP precincts. While Clinton lagged in the suburbs, he made inroads, compared with four years ago.
In Virginia Beach, Clinton garnered 41 percent of the vote, up from 32 percent in 1992. In Roanoke County, the locality with the most voters in Western Virginia, Clinton did less well, but still improved his showing: 39 percent this time, up from 36 percent four years ago.
Amy Couch, a 25-year-old mother of two from Virginia Beach, said she leaned toward Clinton most of the fall, but ended up voting for Dole.
``What threw me off was the commercial showing Clinton saying he'd inhale [marijuana] next time. I cringed. I didn't want my kids to see that,'' Couch said.
``I believe a lot of the stuff the pundits say, that if [Clinton] is elected, you're going to have two years of wasted time investigating him, instead of addressing our problems,'' said Nat Jackson, 30, a UPS driver from Chesapeake.
``I have a lot of respect for Dole as a person,'' said Sylvia Wade, a restaurant owner from Forest, a Lynchburg suburb. ``I think he's a decent, honest person; and I think if there was anything wrong with him, people would have found out by now.''
But some voters said Dole was too old - 73 - for the job of chief executive.
``I don't want to live in the past. That's where Dole said he wanted to take us,'' Willie Stewart, an 18-year-old high school student from Virginia Beach, said after casting his first presidential ballot.
William Royster, 72, of Norfolk said he voted for Clinton in part because he believed history had passed by World War II veterans like himself and Dole.
``I'm 72,'' Royster said. ``Sometimes I'm out cutting the grass and I have to kneel down.''
The Virginia vote was watched closely nationally. Polls throughout the campaign suggested Clinton had a chance to break the GOP's eight-election winning streak in the state. He led Dole by as much as 13 percent during the summer. They were tied in the two most recent polls.
Political analysts said the fact that Virginia was competitive did not bode well nationally for Dole.
With only 13 electoral votes at stake in a reliably Republican state, Clinton largely ignored Virginia. He came to Virginia only once, for a rally with Democratic Senate candidate Mark Warner the week before the election.
Dole made five trips to Virginia, most of them relatively early in the campaign. He also began advertising on television in Virginia earlier than Clinton, who began airing ads in the Norfolk and Roanoke areas just this week.
Staff writers Meredith Cohn, Kathy Loan, Richard Foster, Christina Nuckols, Dave Addis, Paul Clancy, Tom Holden and Bill Reed contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 8 photos. Graphic: Chart: Voice of the Voters. KEYWORDS: MGR ELECTIONby CNB