ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 8, 1996 TAG: 9612090068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: COLLINSVILLE
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
SO MUCH FOR PREDICTIONS of a low-key, low-budget race to fill Virgil Goode's vacant seat.
In the middle of Thursday's nasty winter storm, Del. Roscoe Reynolds jumped into his car and high-tailed it from his law office in Martinsville to the Cable 6 studios a couple of miles away.
Reynolds, who is running for Virgil Goode's vacated state Senate seat, was not a happy man.
The Democrat was intent on responding to criticism aimed at him by his opponent, Republican Del. Allen Dudley of Rocky Mount, who had held a news conference a few hours earlier.
Dudley's news conference had been held up for an hour because Attorney General Jim Gilmore's flight was late. Because of the storm, the plane was having trouble landing at a remote airstrip in Henry County.
Bad weather or not, the campaign must go on, they said.
And what a campaign it has turned out to be.
Many who live in the Senate district thought the four-week race - which will culminate with a special election Dec. 17 - would be a quick, low-profile contest between two men who carry similar Southern conservative philosophies.
Wrong.
Dudley has already raised close to $100,000, which he has used to send out two expensive direct mailings, buy a slew of newspaper, television and radio advertisements and pay a political consultant from Richmond, Mike McElwain, to help orchestrate his campaign. Dudley's wife, Virginia, said money is pouring into her husband's campaign from inside the district and out.
"We decided to shoot for $250,000," said Eric Moore, a Dudley campaign staffer. "The response has been overwhelming, especially when you consider the fact that Christmas is coming up and it's just weeks after the regular election."
Reynolds said he has raised about $75,000 and is surprised that so much money is being funneled into the race.
The stakes for the state Democratic and Republican parties are high: If Dudley wins, the Republicans will gain majority control of the state Senate for the first time in more than 100 years. If Reynolds wins, the Democrats will maintain the 20-20 tie that now exists.
Dudley, at a Smith Mountain Lake fund-raiser Thursday, summed up his strategy: "Because there's so little time, we've got to reach people any way we can."
To do that, Dudley has been aggressive.
He has hammered Reynolds on several issues, one of which was dropped right into the Republican's lap by Lt. Gov. Don Beyer, the likely Democratic candidate for governor next year.
Beyer, in the middle of a Senate race that could have a direct impact on his gubernatorial bid, said publicly that he endorses federal regulation of tobacco.
Republicans, knowing that Goode's district is mostly rural and dotted with farms, jumped for joy.
At the Thursday fund-raiser for Dudley, state Sen. Charles Hawkins of Chatham held up a sign. On one side was "Dudley for State Senate." On the other, "FDA: Keep 'em off the farm."
Hawkins said a vote for Reynolds is a vote of support for Beyer, who, with an evenly split Senate, expects to cast a number of tie-breaking votes as part of his duties as lieutenant governor.
Hawkins, with voice raised and fists pumping, said the special Senate election transcends everyday politics.
"This is about the fundamental beliefs of this area," he said.
But Reynolds contends he is a big supporter of tobacco farmers.
"Don Beyer's stance on tobacco is dead wrong," said Reynolds, whose mother and father grew up on local tobacco farms. "The community knows what I stand for. Allen Dudley and some guy from Richmond can't redefine me. He's running a negative campaign because he's behind, and the only way to try to catch up is to attack."
Reynolds says he does consider himself the front-runner. "I don't want to sound arrogant, but I do think I'm ahead."
One of the main reasons he thinks that way is the district's geographical breakdown. It includes Franklin, Henry, Patrick and Floyd counties, a section of Carroll County and the city of Martinsville.
Two-thirds of its voters live in Reynolds' current House district or the adjoining House district of his close friend and partymate, Del. Ward Armstrong of Henry County.
Reynolds, 54, also represented Henry County as commonwealth's attorney for 16 years, from 1969 to 1985.
He has been aided by the endorsement of the immensely popular Goode, who was elected to Congress last month.
But Dudley has played the Goode card, too. They're high school classmates and friends. Dudley has referred to Goode in several of his advertisements - something that gets under Reynolds' skin.
"Virgil and I have worked together in the General Assembly for a long time," he said. "Allen Dudley just arrived."
But Dudley, 49, arrived with a bang. He upset a heavily favored Democrat in 1993 and became the first Republican from Franklin County to be elected to the House of Delegates in 25 years.
Dudley scrambled to win the 1993 race and is doing the same thing this year.
"We feel the momentum turning our way," said Virginia Dudley.
Reynolds has run a more low-key campaign than Dudley, who has well-known state politicians lining up to stump for him.
On Thursday, those who made speaking appearances to endorse Dudley included Gilmore, state Sens. Hawkins and Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo of Fincastle, state Del. Morgan Griffith of Salem and former state Secretary of Public Safety Jerry Kilgore, a 1997 candidate for attorney general.
Reynolds said the campaign tone set by Dudley can be compared to "riding a bucking bronco."
He said he will continue to respond to charges made against him.
And that's what he did Thursday.
Dudley, at his news conference at the Henry County Administration Building, said Reynolds voted against passing a General Assembly bill this year that would have made it easier to prosecute drug kingpins.
Gilmore and Kilgore were there, and they stood by Dudley's stance.
When Reynolds found out about the news conference, he and his staff prepared a statement. He then called Cable 6, Henry County's local thrill-a-minute television station. When he couldn't get his point across over the phone, Reynolds said: "Well, how about I just come over there."
Five minutes later, he pulled up in front of Cable 6, jogged inside, walked right past the receptionist and into the television studio.
Minutes later, he was live on the air.
Reynolds said the bill was simply carried over for consideration next year. He also pointed out a section of the bill that shows that it would have no effect on state funding if passed, which indicates that it would have no major impact vs. laws already in place.
Later, Reynolds said that using his time to respond to attacks is "unpleasant and frustrating."
But the Dudley campaign has its complaints, too.
Virginia Dudley said she was upset by a recent Democratic Party phone survey.
Her mother got a call, as did Franklin County Republican Party Chairman Carthan Currin.
According to them, the caller brings up hypothetical situations to try to make Dudley look bad.
"They shouldn't be doing things like that, especially to older people," Virginia Dudley said.
LENGTH: Long : 140 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: NHAT MEYER\Staff. 1. Roscoe Reynolds makes a campaignby CNBstop at an antique store in Martinsville on Thursday. 2. Allen
Dudley (left) greets Sen. Charles Hawkins, with Dudley's wife,
Virginia, in background. color. Graphic: Map by staff. KEYWORDS: POLITICS GENERAL ASSEMBLY