ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 18, 1996 TAG: 9612180066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: COLLINSVILLE
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON AND DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
Virgil Goode told voters that the man to succeed him in the Virginia Senate should be Del. Roscoe Reynolds.
And when Goode speaks, people in Southside listen.
Reynolds, aided by a Democratic-swaying district and a strong endorsement by Goode, cruised to a nearly 5,000-vote win over Rocky Mount Republican Del. Allen Dudley Tuesday.
Reynolds' victory allowed Democrats across the state to breathe a sigh of relief.
If Dudley had won, the Republicans would have gained their first majority in the Senate in more than 100 years. Now, with Reynolds filling Goode's vacant seat, the Senate will remain evenly split, with 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans. Goode was elected to Congress last month, which prompted Tuesday's special election.
Lt. Governor Don Beyer, the likely Democratic candidate for governor next year, also benefited from Reynolds' victory. He will be the tiebreaker on legislative votes that break along party lines.
"This shows again the party that consistently puts up the best candidates is going to have an edge," Beyer said Tuesday night. "Roscoe Reynolds is like Abraham Lincoln coming to the Virginia Senate - he's tall, deeply honest and sincere, high-road, the whole thing."
There was a lot of talk around the state about the political stakes of the race, but people in the district - which includes Franklin, Henry, Floyd and Patrick counties, a part of Carroll County, and the city of Martinsville - were more concerned with Goode's impact and the tone of Dudley's campaign.
Don Fall, a Patrick County voter, said he voted for Reynolds, even though he doesn't know much about him.
"I trust Virgil Goode," he said. "He never let politics stand in the way of what he thought was right. I respect the man for that, and that's exactly why I voted for Reynolds."
In his concession speech, Dudley said he thinks Goode was the obstacle that he couldn't overcome.
"I could have beat Roscoe Reynolds," he said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't beat Roscoe Reynolds and Virgil Goode combined."
Dudley did carry Franklin and Floyd counties and the portion of Carroll County that's in the district. However, he had hoped to get 60 percent of the vote in Franklin, his home county. Instead, he only won it by about 200 votes.
"Franklin killed us," said Mike McElwain, Dudley's campaign manager.
Goode, a high school classmate of Dudley's, helped the Republican in his 1995 race against Democrat Claude Whitehead of Pittsylvania County. Goode, immensely popular in Southside, refused to publicly endorse Whitehead, and Dudley cruised to an easy win.
But that didn't happen this time.
Goode campaigned with Reynolds, endorsed him in several newspapers and gave the Henry County delegate a sizable contribution.
Dudley said he knew that Goode would support Reynolds, but he was surprised by how adamant the support was.
"Virgil Goode's support means more to me than I can tell him," Reynolds said.
Democrats were also critical of Dudley's campaign tactics, which included numerous attacks on Reynolds' voting record.
"The lesson here is that you can't demonize someone in a state legislative race," said Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County. "I hope it sends a message that negative campaigning has no place in Virginia politics."
Patrick County Supervisor Barnie Day, who will seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Reynolds in the House of Delegates, said: "Sooner or later, the state Republican Party is going to understand that attack, junkyard dog politics isn't going to sell in Southwest Virginia. I don't know how many lessons it's going to take."
Leaders in both parties agree, however, that Reynolds' victory should have few ideological consequences, considering his Goode-like conservative voting patterns.
"Roscoe is very close to Virgil - pro gun rights, pro tobacco, pro parental notification," Beyer said. "But the 20-20 Senate forces cooperation. It will be good to see some of that continue."
Reynolds, who stressed the need for school funding throughout his campaign, said it's clear to him that the issue of education remains on the political front burner.
Bert Rohrer, a state Democratic Party spokesman, agreed.
"You've just seen an aggressive, straight-forward campaign that emphasizes education above all else," he said. "I think you'll see that repeated across the state."
Dudley refused to characterize his campaign as negative.
"We ran an honest campaign that put the issues in front of the voters that needed to be there," he said. "You can't run a campaign like this one and not make enemies. And I want to say that I don't consider Roscoe Reynolds to be one of those enemies. We will continue to work together."
Reynolds said the same thing.
He said the legislators representing Southside and Southwest Virginia are too few in number for him to hold a grudge against Dudley.
"We have to work together," Reynolds said.
A short time after that, everybody in both camps turned their attention to Christmas.
Armstrong led a jubilant throng of Reynolds supporters as they sang "Roscoe the red-nosed Reindeer."
Democrats also picked up a seat in the House of Delegates Tuesday as two other special elections were held in Fairfax County to fill seats vacated by Republicans.
Democrats now hold a 53-46 majority in the House with one independent.
Republicans will have a chance to win back their lost seat, probably in early January, when a special election is held to fill the House vacancy created by Reynolds' victory.
In the 35th House District, Democrat George Lovelace took 52 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Mike Polychrones. They battled to fill the seat Del. Richard Fisher vacated to devote more time to his job. And Lovelace, Beyer noted, will be one of the few black legislators in Virginia history to represent a mostly white district.
In the 37th District, Republican John Rust Jr. got 54 percent of the vote over Democrat Julia Lyman. They were competing for the seat left vacant by the death of Del. Robert Harris last month.
Staff writer Robert Little contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY Staff. 1. Roscoe Reynolds Wins Virgil Goode'sby CNBU.S. Senate seat in a special election Tuesday. color. 2. Allen
Dudley, with his wife, Virginia, by his side, concedes the race to
his Democrat opponent. Graphic: Chartsi. 1. Special election at a
glance. color. 2. 20th Virginia Senate District. KEYWORDS: ELECTION MGR