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

DATE: MONDAY, June 13, 1994                    TAG: 9406130078 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE AND MARGARET EDDS, STAFF WRITERS 
DATELINE: 940613                                 LENGTH: Medium

FORMER PEROT BACKERS ENDORSE COLEMAN FOR SENATE \

{LEAD} A group of key Virginia backers of Ross Perot's 1992 presidential bid voted this weekend to form an independent political party and endorse J. Marshall Coleman for the U.S. Senate, Coleman confirmed Sunday.

While both the legal and political status of the group remains uncertain, the formation of The Virginia Independent Party - as the group hopes to call itself - could have important implications in the tumultuous Senate contest.

{REST} ``It raises some interesting possibilities,'' Coleman said in a telephone interview. ``They expressed a view to me that they're disillusioned with the way the two parties are working. They view themselves as outsiders.''

None of the dozen individuals who attended the Charlottesville meeting could be reached for comment. But two officials of United We Stand America, the tax-exempt educational group that grew out of the Perot campaign, confirmed that a meeting took place. Both cautioned that they are not affiliated with the new effort.

``It is essentially the entire former board of the Perot organization,'' said Tom Overocker, southeast regional director for United We Stand America and the former Virginia director of the 1992 Perot Petition Committee.

Overocker said ``it's really hard to say'' how many of those who supported the presidential bid of the Texas billionaire would follow the recommendation of the group in the Senate race. ``But they would probably speak for a large majority of them,'' he said.

Coleman, who had an hour interview with the group, said he views the group's endorsement as ``a very favorable sign.'' But the former state attorney general said the Perot organization will not be the ``basis'' of his campaign, if he decides to run.

Coleman is expected to turn in petitions today to qualify as an independent candidate on the November ballot. An official announcement is expected on Thursday.

Coleman said he does not know if the group interviewed any other Senate candidates.

If the group gains formal status as a political party, its endorsement could be a financial boon. Federal election laws limit contributions to $1,000 per person in a general election, but parties are able to spend tens of thousands of dollars in supporting their candidates with phone banks and mailings.

{KEYWORDS} ENDORSEMENT U.S. SENATE RACE

by CNB