THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 9, 1994 TAG: 9411090362
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TYSONS CORNER LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
For much of the last 20 years he was among the most divisive figures in Virginia politics, but J. Marshall Coleman was reflective, even graceful, Tuesday night as he urged a roomful of supporters to ``move on to the next phase of our lives.''
His longshot independent campaign for the Senate crushed at the polls, a smiling Coleman insisted he had no regrets. ``Believe me, we did the right thing,'' he said. ``We acted and voted our consciences. And every vote we received was a vote against politics as usual and for renewed pride in our state and our government.''
Conceding defeat around 8:45, Coleman declined to second-guess his campaign or analyze the victory of incumbent Charles S. Robb. ``There are a lot of things I should've done,'' was all he would say.
In an interview, campaign manager Anson Franklin said lack of money was at the heart of Coleman's poor showing. ``If we'd had $2 million (Coleman's initial budget), we could've been a lot more competitive.'' Coleman ended up raising only about $800,000 - $300,000 of that from his own pocket.
Predictions that Coleman would throw the election to North by holding down Robb's vote totals proved groundless. Also unrealized was his hope that publicity about Robb's ``peccadilloes'' and North's alleged lies would drive the electorate his way.
Coleman's loss was a sharp blow to U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, a Republican who pronounced North unfit for office and then urged Coleman into the contest. Though generally recognized as the state's most popular officeholder, Warner could not transfer his appeal. He now must deal with GOP loyalists, particularly evangelical Christians, who've already signaled their eagerness to challenge his bid for a fourth term in 1996.
Coleman's weak showing underlined the continuing value of major party labels, even in a contest with vulnerable party nominees and amid polls showing growth in the number of voters who consider themselves independent.
``His name was not Byrd, it was not Howell,'' observed James Latimer of Richmond, the now-retired dean of Virginia political reporters, comparing Coleman to former U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr. and former Lt. Gov. Henry E. Howell Jr.
Those Virginians ran successful independent campaigns on the right and left, respectively, in the 1970s. But unlike them, Coleman ``did not have a hard-core following,'' Latimer said.
Coleman also lacked the statewide organization and money ``that can sustain even a scandal-drenched candidate,'' said University of Virginia political scientist Larry J. Sabato, and largely was unable to get the news media to treat him as a realistic alternative.
Despite Coleman's failure, Sabato and Bill Wood, head of the U.Va.-based Virginia Institute for Political Leadership, argued that continuing voter dissatisfaction with the major parties is likely to foster additional independent candidacies.
Both Coleman, a twice-unsuccessful candidate for governor, and Wilder, who in September gave up his own independent quest for the Senate, had political histories that turned off many voters, Wood added. A fresher face, say retired Gen. Colin Powell, might have been far more successful against Robb and North, he said.
Coleman's loss seemed likely to end a 20-year political career that once appeared destined for the heights. The 53-year-old Waynesboro native became Virginia's first Republican attorney general in 1977. His campaign as a sort of conservative populist and his strong appeal to black voters took Democrats by surprise.
But Coleman was beaten decisively by Robb in the 1981 governor's race and then outmaneuvered for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor in 1985. He seemed to get his career back on track briefly in 1989, when he upset former Sen. Paul S. Trible Jr. in a gubernatorial primary, but then lost the general election in a squeaker to Wilder, who became the nation's first elected black governor. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
J. Marshall Coleman, voting early on Tuesday, was hopeful. But he
conceded defeat at 8:45 p.m.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE VIRGINIA CANDIDATES RESULTS by CNB