THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, June 7, 1995                TAG: 9506070468
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                           LENGTH: Short :   50 lines

ALLEN RAISES $421,000 TO AID GOP HIS GOAL: REPUBLICAN CONTROL OF ASSEMBLY

With his political agenda at stake, Gov. George F. Allen has raised $421,000 to help elect fellow Republicans to the General Assembly this fall.

The strong fund-raising effort may be unprecedented for a Virginia governor in the middle of his term, several Republican activists said Tuesday.

The drive, they said, underscores Allen's determination to topple the Democrats' longstanding domination of the General Assembly. Republicans need to gain only three seats in the House and three in the Senate to control the legislature for the first time.

Allen is hoping that Republican majorities would enable him to enact tax cuts and other reforms that Democrats blocked this year.

``The governor believes there's a lot at stake,'' said Chris Nolen, executive director of the Campaign for Honest Change, a political action committee Allen set up for his fund-raising efforts. ``It will be a lot easier with Republican majorities to pass the promises the governor made in his 1993 campaign.''

Allen launched his drive independent of the state Republican Party so he could have direct control over how the money is spent. Nolen said the governor hopes to make direct contributions to candidates and help pay for phone banks, polling and advertisements.

Nolen said some of the money also may be used to defray Allen's travel expenses this fall, when he plans to barnstorm for Republican candidates across the state.

Virginia governors traditionally raise money to help legislators from their party during midterm elections. Before this year, the record is believed to be $125,000 raised by Charles S. Robb in 1983 to help fellow Democrats.

Nolen said well over half of the money raised by Allen came from a fund-raising dinner the governor hosted in Richmond last month. The event featured a campaign speech by Allen and a video of the governor's accomplishments during his first 17 months in office. Nolen said Allen is close to reaching his fund-raising goal and may not sponsor any other big-ticket events. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

George F. Allen's fund for GOP candidates may be record.

KEYWORDS: REPUBLICANS VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY by CNB