THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 14, 1994 TAG: 9411140039
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
State Republicans hope that the GOP's newly elected majority in Congress will translate into more seats in the General Assembly after next November's election.
Scott Leake, executive director of the GOP's state legislative caucus, said the fact that Republicans control Congress for the first time since the 1952 elections has more than symbolic significance for state lawmakers.
``The notion of a GOP legislative majority is no longer a `poli sci' textbook exercise,'' Leake said. ``It'll be a reality for all to see just across the Potomac, and demographics are on our side.''
Virginia swam against the national tide in last Tuesday's election, with Democrats retaining a slim majority in the congressional delegation. That included Sen. Charles S. Robb's re-election over Republican nominee Oliver North.
Elsewhere around the country, Republican challengers were knocking off Democratic incumbents.
That swimming-against-the-tide aspect of the Virginia vote may not bring the Republicans their hoped-for gains, according to some.
``I would remind our Republican friends that they lost big in Virginia,'' said Gail Nardi, communications director of the Democrats' General Assembly caucus.
Mark Rozell, a Mary Washington College political scientist, said it is too early to draw any conclusions.
``This year, Virginia bucked the national trend, and there's no reason to believe it might not happen again next year,'' Rozell said. ``Maybe Democrats will fare better than Republicans next year even though there appears to be a massive Republican trend'' in General Assembly elections.
He said that General Assembly elections turn on local issues and personalities rather than broad party platforms. ``But all things being equal, a GOP state candidate would prefer to have more Republicans in national office.''
Robert D. Holsworth, a political scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the state GOP could be poised for a ``historic triumph'' in the 1995 elections.
``It would have been easier if North had won,'' he said, adding that the GOP is less than unified.
U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., refused to endorse North, calling him unfit to serve. Warner backed the candidacy of independent Marshall Coleman, a former Republican state attorney general. Coleman finished a distant third. Many Republicans were angered by Warner's actions.
The entire General Assembly - 40 senators and 100 delegates - face re-election next November.
Currently, there are 22 Democrats and 18 Republicans in the Senate. The House has 52 Democrats, 47 Republicans and one GOP-leaning independent. Just 15 years ago, Democrats outnumbered Republicans 3 to 1 in both chambers.
In the most recent legislative elections, the GOP picked up eight new Senate seats in 1991 and six House seats in 1993.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB