THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994 TAG: 9406170550
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940617 LENGTH: RALEIGH
Rep. John Nichols, R-Craven, a freshman member of the House, said Thursday that he has begun testing the waters for a possible run for lieutenant governor in 1996.
{REST} ``I have been approached and I have committed to looking at it,'' Nichols said in an interview from his office in Raleigh. ``There are a lot of variables and I certainly won't be the last person to look at the race.''
Nichols said he was approached by some Republican Party leaders who believe that Nichols would give geographic balance to a GOP ticket that is likely to be headed by someone from western North Carolina.
Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot and retired race car driver Richard Petty are among the Republicans from the west who are said to be considering a run from the governor's office in 1996.
``I think the eastern part of the state is the most fertile ground for the Republican Party,'' said Nichols, a former Democrat. ``The Republican Party in the east has become stronger in recent years.''
Nichols, who won office by defeating incumbent Gerald Anderson to represent the 3rd District, was one of three northeastern Republicans to upset incumbent Democrats in House races in 1992.
He earned headlines earlier this year as one of the legislature's first advocates of a proposal, known as ``three strikes and you're out,'' which would sentence criminals who had committed three violent crimes to life in prison. The proposal was endorsed by Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. who included it in his crime package.
Nichols would face an uphill battle against Dennis Wicker, the popular and well-funded Democratic incumbent from Sanford, but he says it's time for Republicans to step forward and begin aggressively planning for statewide races.
Wicker, with campaign contributions of about $500,000 on hand, is one of the state's best-funded lawmakers. But Nichols, a mortgage banker and president of First Choice Mortgage Co. in New Bern said he was prepared to match Wicker's fund-raising capabilities.
``I could take that much money from my pocket if I had to,'' he said. ``It's a numbers game both in terms of fund-raising and in terms of voter interest.''
Nichols said he'll seek some speaking engagements across the state in an effort to gauge voter support for a possible campaign and should make a decision by next summer.
Nichols' possible run for lieutenant governor gained attention in the halls of the legislature earlier this week when royal blue and white bumper stickers that read ``For North Carolina John Nichols 1996'' began circulating in the building.
Because the bumper stickers don't specify an office, Nichols said they could be used in his House campaign in two years should he decide not to seek statewide office.
by CNB