ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060048
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ABINGDON
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
Even before the results were in, Rita Klein of Blacksburg knew why she had voted to re-elect Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, to represent the 9th Congressional District.
"Because I felt like he did some good things for us while in office, and I didn't care for what [Republican challenger Patrick] Muldoon had to offer," she said after voting Tuesday.
Muldoon, a Giles County engineer turned law student, and Virginia Independent/Reform Party candidate Tom Roberts, a Blacksburg engineer, had challenged Boucher this year as he sought re-election to an eighth two-year term.
When Boucher walked into Abingdon's Hardware Company Restaurant about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, joining some 100 Democratic supporters from throughout the district, the big-screen television over the door had just flashed numbers showing Boucher with 65 percent of the vote and Muldoon with 32 percent.
A delighted Boucher said the figures point to "what now appears to be our largest victory ever."
Muldoon, a 31-year-old political newcomer, was upbeat at a gathering in Blacksburg as he sent his congratulations to his opponent, but he also issued a challenge to Boucher:
"I hope in the next two years you truly do represent voters of the 9th District," Muldoon said to a small crowd gathered at Blacksburg's Custom Catering Center.
He reiterated his conservative principles and hailed his party as "the party of Lincoln, Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole" - and the party with "character."
And he hinted that he'd be back in '98, noting that few great wars are won with the first battle. Muldoon said he raised only $50,000 in his attempt to beat the incumbent.
Muldoon's first run for office was a family affair; sister Meghan, 29, was campaign chairwoman. Muldoon's father, Pat, called the race "truly a David-and-Goliath thing - and Goliath won."
Earlier in the day, Rhonda Alley of Pulaski gave her reason for being part of the decisive Boucher vote. "I think Congressman Boucher works really good with individuals in the community, and I've been very happy with him in that position and saw no reason to change," she said Tuesday afternoon.
In his remarks to supporters, generally repeated in some half-dozen back-to-back interviews with various reporters afterward, Boucher gave similar reasons for his widespread support in the district that stretches from West Roanoke County to the western tip of the state.
He said he has been consistent in trying to secure federal investments to build industrial infrastructure for new businesses and a fiber-optic educational network to overcome some of the financial troubles faced by schools in the district.
Federal funding for projects in Boucher's district amounted to more than $100 million in his current term. He said it is obviously paying off, because the district, with only 9 percent of the state's population, is leading all other districts by accounting for 15 percent of Virginia's new jobs.
Muldoon and Roberts had campaigned on the need to cut federal spending. In fact, Roberts was so committed to his major issues of the federal deficit and election reform that he has scheduled post-election talks on those issues with several civic clubs.
Increasing employment and bridging educational disparities will continue to be Boucher's goals in the next two years, he declared. "Tomorrow, we begin our hard work. Most of my staff is here tonight, and they're nodding their heads!"
Later, Boucher said he had hoped for a big win but had learned not to predict election outcomes. "I was very hopeful," he said. "I'm very gratified by the result."
Boucher thought that his calm, methodical campaigning was a factor in that result. "The higher the decibel levels on the other side, the higher the margins we receive," he said. "This is a victory for a positive campaign."
Even voters who were not thoroughly familiar with Boucher seemed to have decided to stay with him. "I don't know a lot about him," admitted Julia Tracy of Christiansburg after she voted Tuesday, but she voted for him. "I think I read a little bit about him that I liked."
"I voted for Rick Boucher. I just kind of like what he had to say this year," said Patricia Broyles of Newport, in Muldoon's home county of Giles.
Sharon Shawver, down the road in Pembroke, disagreed, however, citing Boucher's support of President Clinton's veto of a bill that would have banned partial-birth abortions. "I didn't vote for Boucher, that's for sure," she declared. Muldoon, also from Pembroke, had campaigned heavily against partial-birth abortions.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. 1. A victorious Rep. Rick Boucher greetsby CNBsupporters Tuesday evening at the Hardware Company Restaurant in his
hometown of Abingdon. (headshots) 2. Muldoon. 3. Roberts. KEYWORDS: ELECTION