THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 

                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994                    TAG: 9406010529 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: D5    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: WASHINGTON POST 
DATELINE: 940601                                 LENGTH: WASHINGTON

WARNER SAYS HE MAY SUPPORT INDEPENDENT

{LEAD} Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., said he will actively support an independent Senate bid by fellow Republican J. Marshall Coleman if Oliver L. North wins the GOP nomination Saturday.

Virginia's senior senator said he has been encouraging Coleman, a former state attorney general, to mount an independent campaign because he finds North unfit to hold public office.

{REST} Analysts said that even though Coleman has lost two statewide races since he was elected attorney general in 1977, Warner could help make him a serious contender.

{KEYWORDS} U.S. SENATE RACE VIRGINIA CANDIDATES REPUBLICAN PARTY ENDORSEMENTS by CNB