THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 3, 1994 TAG: 9409030486
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEC KLEIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Marshall had a bad day in court, Doug lost some friends, Chuck was late and Ollie is having a big party.
A daytime soap? Not quite. Such was the ebb and flow Friday for the four candidates running in Virginia's free-for-all U.S. Senate race.
J. Marshall Coleman's independent bid for office became even more independent when Richmond Circuit Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr. ruled that the Virginia Independent Party does not meet the requirements of a political party under state law.
The aspiring political group had supported H. Ross Perot's independent presidential candidacy in 1992; Coleman, a longtime Republican and former state attorney general, is their man this year.
Friday's ruling means that Coleman will have to continue campaigning without the backing of a party organization, which could have translated into more financial contributions.
Campaign manager C. Anson Franklin played down the judge's decision: ``Members of the Virginia Independent Party are already folded into Coleman's organization. As a practical matter, it has no effect on Coleman's campaign.''
The Perot group is considering appealing the decision to the state Supreme Court. Should it prevail, Coleman could find his name higher on the ballot, which, according to traditional wisdom, garners more votes.
Under state law, party candidate names are listed first, based on a random drawing, followed by the names of independents, in alphabetical order. As it stands, Coleman's will appear third.
Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, also an independent, must contend with the final spot on the ballot. But he may have a more serious problem on his hands.
On Friday, state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, Richmond's former mayor, endorsed Democratic incumbent Charles S. Robb. So did a group of Roanoke-area Democrats, mostly ministers, who had backed Wilder as a Democrat in his previous statewide campaigns.
Campaign manager Glenn K. Davidson played down the loss: ``As a Democratic official who feels he needs to go back to the party for re-election in another year, I would expect nothing more, nothing less from Sen. Marsh. Doug Wilder has a very solid base of support among Democrats, Republicans and independents that will elect him in November.''
Robb may have benefited at Wilder's expense, but the senator found himself doing more apologizing than politicking Friday when he made a brief stop at a popular Suffolk lunch spot.
He was expected at 11:45 a.m., but by 12:30 p.m., his advance man was looking nervous, half the supporters had left and the guest of honor still hadn't arrived.
``Where's he coming from, Washington?'' a woman in the crowd wondered. By the time he finally arrived from neighboring Chesapeake, only about 15 supporters were still hanging around. The candidate shook some hands, posed for some pictures, then nodded his head and said, ``Traffic. Got to go.''
Republican nominee Oliver L. North is expecting quite a few more supporters - about 300 - to attend a $1,000-a-plate fund-raising dinner at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel on Sept. 9.
Organizers are describing the dinner as the largest fund-raising event North has held in Virginia this year. Among the dinner speakers: novelist Tom Clancy, Gov. George F. Allen and former Gov. Mills E. Godwin. MEMO: Staff writers Robert Little, Warren Fiske, Margaret Edds and Michael
Stowe contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Coleman
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE CANDIDATE RULING by CNB