ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, April 11, 1997                 TAG: 9704110065
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-5  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

GOP SEES VA. RACE AS INDICATOR FOR '98 AS VIRGINIA, JERSEY GO, SO GOES THE NATION, GROUP SAYS

Thirty-six states will elect governors next year, and a GOP official counts on this year's vote in Virginia and New Jersey to show which way the wind is blowing.

This year's races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia will set the stage for 1998, when two-thirds of the states choose their chief executives, the head of the Republican Governors Association predicted Thursday.

``Just as in 1993, when the election of key mayors and governors were the precursor of our tremendous success in 1994,'' said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. ``We think 1997 is an important precursor of what's going to happen in 1998.''

Virginia and New Jersey elected Republican governors four years ago, Christie Whitman in New Jersey and George Allen in Virginia.

Whitman is seeking re-election, but Virginia law bars Allen from seeking another term. Virginia Attorney General Jim Gilmore is the GOP contender and Lt. Gov. Don Beyer the Democratic hopeful.

Next year 36 states will elect governors, and Republicans hold 24 of those seats.

Branstad said he was heartened by this week's re-election of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican, and he predicted similar success for New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the fall.

In New Jersey, three Democrats are seeking their party's gubernatorial nomination - Rep. Rob Andrews, Woodbridge Mayor; and state Sen. James McGreevey and former Morris County Prosecutor Michael Murphy.

Whitman's approval rating dipped from 62 percent in February to 52 percent in a Quinnipiac College poll released Thursday of 867 state residents surveyed April 1-April 6.

But she enjoyed leads of 16 to 20 points over the three contenders for the Democratic nomination. The survey has a 3.3-percentage-point margin of error.

Gilmore was not able to attend the news conference.

LENGTH: Short :   47 lines
KEYWORDS: POLITICS GOVERNOR