THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406150502
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940615 LENGTH: RICHMOND
Wilder, 63, signed a declaration of candidacy at the State Board of Elections in the early afternoon and submitted the signatures of 35,000 Virginia voters to qualify as the fourth Senate candidate on November ballots.
{REST} On Saturday, the former Democratic governor is expected to formally declare his candidacy and his break with the political party that supported him for 25 years.
Wilder said his opponents - Robb, the winner of Tuesday's Democratic primary; Republican nominee Oliver L. North; and independent J. Marshall Coleman, a former Republican state attorney general - are out of touch with Virginians and have made the state ``the butt of jokes on late-night television.''
``I will gladly put my record of achievement and accountability up against any of them,'' said Wilder, who in 1989 became the nation's first elected blackgovernor.
Wilder's candidacy is expected to cause hardship for Robb. Polls indicate that Wilder might receive at least 70 percent of the black vote, a former source of bedrock support for the incumbent senator.
Wilder and Robb have engaged in a bitter feud for almost nine years. The rivalry peaked in 1991 when Robb's staff leaked to reporters a tape of a private telephone conversation between Wilder and a political supporter. Wilder has said that the taping incident and reports of womanizing by Robb have made his rival ``unfit to hold office.''
But during a news conference Tuesday night, Wilder said he will stick to issues and not dwell on the integrity of Robb or any of his other Senate opponents.
``I will deal with records and issues, not personalities,'' he said. ``You know the facts (on integrity). I've answered all the questions before. Ladies and gentlemen, this is it.''
Wilder said he was not impressed by Robb's victory with 58 percent of the vote in the four-way Democratic primary, pointing out that voter turnout was below 10 percent.
``I would suggest that there was no enthusiasm,'' he said. ``The question is why so few voted. Aren't there more Democrats than that?''
Wilder said of North: ``I don't think he can be elected in Virginia. I don't think he represents the views of the majority in Virginia.''
Wilder dismissed concerns by some of his supporters that even after he announces his candidacy, he might still drop out of the race later this summer if the going is bad. Last year, Wilder said he ``intended'' to run in the Democratic primary for the Senate, then dramatically announced he would not be a candidate during his final address to the General Assembly.
``To the extent that I would file for the ballot as a candidate, it would be a totally inflexible decision,'' Wilder said. ``To the extent that I make an announcement (of candidacy), I would intend to stay in the race through the election.''
Wilder's on-again, off-again candidacy has been a sore point with Democratic leaders who are close to Robb. Realizing last fall that he would have little chance of defeating Robb at a state convention, Wilder threatened to run as an independent if party leaders did not agree to hold a primary. Even though the party agreed to accommodate him, Wilder bolted anyway.
``I'm disappointed that Doug has chosen to run,'' said state Democratic Chairman Mark Warner. ``I think the Democratic party set up a very fair and inclusive process at his urging. If he was going to run, I wish he had run as a Democrat.''
Wilder said he dropped out of the race last January because he was ``tired'' of politics.
He said he decided to re-emerge as an independent candidate this spring because ``many people have come to me and said, `Give me an opportunity to vote for someone, not against someone.' '' Wilder said he was unable to organize a campaign in time to meet the April 15 deadline to file as a Democrat.
Had he entered the primary, Wilder said, he would have won.
A recent poll showed that 37 percent of state voters have a negative view of Wilder, while only 29 percent said they like him. Wilder blamed his low popularity on the media, who he said ``bought into'' Robb's efforts to discredit him.
Wilder said he could run an effective campaign by raising $1.5 million to $2 million - about one-tenth of the money North hopes to raise. ``I just don't believe in throwing away money,'' Wilder said.
{KEYWORDS} CANDIDATE INDEPENDENT U.S. SENATE RACE
by CNB