THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 28, 1994 TAG: 9407280532
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 128 lines
There was nothing subtle about the message that convinced Dick Leggett, a longtime Republican strategist, not to work in J. Marshall Coleman's independent campaign for the U.S. Senate this year.
``I have several Republican clients in Virginia who were very direct in saying my future relationship with them and the party depended on my not working for Coleman,'' Leggett said.
Nor is there anything mysterious about the message Edgar Bacon, an influential Democratic organizer from southwestern Virginia, offers to L. Douglas Wilder, who is also mounting an independent Senate campaign.
``Tell him I have no use for him,'' Bacon said. ``I detest someone who bolts the party. I will never lift a finger for him again.''
Such are the long odds Coleman and Wilder face this summer. Both are trying to jump-start their respective independent campaigns with low-budget car tours and multiple news conferences in search of free publicity.
Coleman and Wilder say they are running because the two major parties failed to nominate credible candidates in incumbent Democrat Charles S. Robb and Republican Oliver L. North. Voters, they say, are desperately searching for options.
Although Virginia's muddled four-way Senate race is beginning as a challenge to the leadership of political parties, a growing number of observers say it may be remembered as testament to the clout of Virginia's Democratic and Republican organizations.
Consider some of the disadvantages the independent candidates already face, according to July 15 campaign disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission:
North had raised $8.4 million for his campaign and Robb collected $2.5 million. Coleman, on the other hand, had raised $135,000. Wilder collected $67,000 - almost one-third of which he personally loaned his campaign.
North listed 39 full-time employees and Robb listed 31. Wilder has a paid campaign staff of five. Coleman has two people on his payroll.
Spokesmen for Coleman and Wilder point out that each of the candidates had been officially in the race for less than a month when the reports were filed, while North and Robb had been campaigning for more than a year. Coleman and Wilder each have a goal of raising about $2 million by November.
But the rules of the game work decidedly against the independents as they seek cash to compete with Robb and North in all-important television advertising this fall.
Under federal election law, Robb and North may collect a maximum of $2,000 from each individual contributor - $1,000 for the fall campaign and another $1,000 because they faced challenges for their respective party's nomination. On top of that, people can give $5,000 more to the state Democratic or Republican parties that can be earmarked for Robb or North.
Private cash gifts to Wilder and Coleman's campaigns, however, are capped at $1,000 per individual.
``Given the media onslaught from North and Robb this fall, the key question is whether Coleman and Wilder will have enough money to get their message out,'' said Robert Holsworth, a political scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University. ``It will not be enough if they're only heard at debates.''
The second challenge for Wilder and Coleman is to stitch together an organization of professional staffers and volunteers that reaches across the state. Their problem is that many of the most experienced organizers in the state hold formal positions within the Democratic and Republican organizations that bind them to supporting their party's nominee.
Theoretically, Wilder appears well-positioned to take on the challenges. He starts with a deep base of black support throughout Virginia. A growing number of Richmond businessmen, all touting Wilder's record as a fiscally conservative governor from 1990 to 1994, are helping him raise money. They include Thomas E. Capps, chairman of Dominion Resources; Stewart M. Kasen, chairman of Best Products Co. Inc.; and Stuart Siegel, president of S&K Famous Menswear Inc.
Wilder also is hoping to raise about $1 million through a national network of successful black businessmen. In recent weeks, he has traveled to Baltimore and Atlanta to address annual meetings of the Guardsmen and Sigma Pi Phi - two influential national black fraternities.
``You're talking about the cream of the black middle class and there's a lot of potential money there,'' said Ron Walters, a political scientist at Howard University. ``The question is, do they want to give it to Wilder?''
Walters suggested that members of the fraternities may not be as willing to reach for their checkbooks as they were when Wilder ran for governor in 1989. ``Wilder was the Democratic nominee for governor and people thought he had a legitimate chance,'' Walters said. ``This Senate race is a lot trickier and people are going to be looking for assurances that they're not pouring money down the drain.''
Coleman, a former Republican attorney general, may face more obstacles than Wilder. He lacks a natural base of support and, having been out of public office for 12 years, has no recent record on which to run.
Moreover, GOP leaders are demanding rank-and-file loyalty to North. They are threatening to force any Republican activist who openly supports Coleman to resign from the party. As a result, few GOP loyalists have been willing to publicly identify themselves with Coleman.
``We can't allow defections or there's no point to having a nominating process,'' said Patrick McSweeney, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party. ``If the nominating process has no credibility, than neither does the party.''
Coleman has relied largely on the support of U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., to overcome the hurdle. Warner has denounced North as unsuitable for public office and is trying to raise money for Coleman. ``We're hoping other Republicans will follow his lead,'' said Anson Franklin, Coleman's campaign manager. ``We believe there's a large stealth vote out there for Marshall.''
Franklin said the importance of big money and party organization is vastly overestimated this year. At some point this fall, he said, voters will be reminded of the shortcomings of North and Robb and take a long look at the independents.
``This will be a high turnout race and that reduces the effect of party organization,'' Franklin said. ``The most important factor will be the candidate, not the party. Marshall will be ready.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
As of July 15, their campaigns had raised...
J. Marshall Coleman: $135,000
L. Douglas Wilder: $67,000
Oliver L. North: $8.4 million
Charles S. Robb: $2.5 million
Senate candidate Oliver L. North won the backing of Virginia's
Republican Party.
Incumbent Sen. Charles S. Robb has the backing of the Democratic
Party of Virginia.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATE CAMPAIGN FINANCE by CNB