THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 9, 1995 TAG: 9511090411
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TODD JACKSON, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
The day after the most contentious General Assembly election in the state's history, an unopposed legislator with bipartisan popularity was the center of attention.
State Sen. Virgil Goode, D-Rocky Mount, he of the distinctive Southern drawl and folksy nature, spent Wednesday talking to reporters from all over the state.
``I really didn't expect all this,'' he said between phone calls at his law office.
But with the state Senate evenly divided with 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans, Goode has been tagged the legislator most likely to bolt his party to give the GOP a one-vote majority.
There are good reasons why.
As a legislator, Goode, who was elected to the Senate two decades ago at age 27, votes with the Republicans more than some of that party's own members do.
And Franklin County Democrats and Republicans agree that his unwillingness to publicly endorse Democratic House candidate Claude Whitehead during this year's campaign season helped the successful re-election bid of Del. Allen Dudley, R-Rocky Mount.
However, Goode said Wednesday - as he's said several times over the past few months - that he will not switch parties.
His late father, Virgil Goode Sr., a popular Franklin County politician, was a Democrat, and the Democratic Party in Southside Virginia isn't the same as it is in Washington, Goode said.
In local newspapers, he's been quoted as saying the only way he would make the switch would be if his wife Lucy or his dog was kidnapped.
Dudley, who graduated in the same high school class with Goode, called the Democrat Wednesday and joked: ``I've got your dog,'' Goode said.
Even with Goode's answer of no, don't expect state Republicans to drop the sales pitch.
The party is as close as it's ever been to grabbing a majority in either chamber of the legislature.
``Who else, besides Virgil, would we be more likely to persuade?,'' said Franklin County Republican Chairman Carthan Currin, who received calls from party leaders Wednesday outlining possible scenarios to try to hook Goode.
One is particularly persuasive: The Republicans would offer Goode chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee if he leaves the Democratic Party, either as a Republican or as an Independent.
While the Republican interest in Goode builds, his impact on the Democratic Party is a hot issue, too.
In the wake of Sen. Hunter Andrews' defeat, some think Goode could rise to majority leader in the Senate - although other Democrats are vying for the post that Andrews long held.
KEYWORDS: ELECTION FOLLOW UP 1995 by CNB