THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070457
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
He refused to publicly endorse a fellow Democrat in a House of Delegates race last year, and he orchestrated a historic power-sharing agreement that benefited his Republican counterparts in the Senate in January.
Tuesday, Sen. Virgil Goode made his next move.
The homespun lawyer from Rocky Mount stepped in front of Democrats and asked for their support, announcing that he is seeking the party's nomination for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County.
Payne announced Monday that he is retiring at the end of this year's session.
Goode pledged that he'll ``take Virginia values to Washington.''
``It is the people in the stores and farms, on the sidewalks and in the cafes, in the factories and in the homes. . . . These are the citizens whose vote, help and support I am asking for,''he said.
Goode, whose conservative brand of politics has often put him at odds with fellow General Assembly Democrats but endeared him to Southside voters, promised to protect tobacco interests, defend Medicare and support a federal balanced-budget amendment.
Virtually all of the Democratic legislators whose districts overlap Payne's sprawling 5th District are backing Goode in his bid for Congress. The list includes Sen. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, who has offered the strongest criticism of Goode's support of a plan to give Republicans an equal share of committee assignments and chairmanships in the Senate. Goode pushed his plan as a gesture of fairness - there are 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans in the Senate.
Most Democratic senators wanted to endorse a plan that would have kept all chairmanships in Democratic hands.
``Virgil is a Democrat, and he can be elected,'' said Lucas, who attended Goode's news conference Tuesday. ``I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, and I'd rather have someone in Congress wearing a Democratic uniform than no one at all.''
Local party leaders across the 5th District also appear to be behind Goode.
``Virgil's the strongest candidate,'' said Albemarle County Democratic Chairman William Hervey. ``I think Democrats across the district will rally behind him.''
Several lawmakers said they agreed at a Monday night meeting in Richmond to back Goode, hoping the quick show of support would dissuade other Democrats from seeking the seat.
``The reason we did it today is so that all the weekly newspapers (in the congressional district) would carry Virgil's announcement alongside of the story about L.F. Payne's (retirement),'' said Del. Watkins Abbitt, D-Appomattox County.
Should Goode win the nomination, GOP political consultant Ray Allen predicted that Republicans will try to link Goode to President Clinton, who is unpopular in the 5th District.
But Democrats - and some Republicans - feel that Goode is a perfect fit for the mostly rural 5th District, which stretches from Charlottesville to Halifax County and includes Bedford, Franklin, Henry, and Patrick counties and the cities of Martinsville and Bedford.
``Virgil's a shoo-in,'' said former Sen. Elliot Schewel, a Lynchburg Democrat who served with Goode in the legislature for more than two decades.
Goode's mind-boggling stranglehold in Southside was apparent in his unsuccessful bid to wrest the Democratic nomination away from U.S. Sen. Charles Robb in a 1994 primary.
Goode, on his home turf Southside, excited people so much that almost half the registered voters in Franklin County turned out to vote - an unheard-of figure in a party primary - and they voted overwhelmingly for Goode. He defeated Robb 7,974 to 511 in Franklin County, a margin of 15-to-1.
Franklin County Republican Chairman Carthen Currin knows Goode is going to be a tough man to beat.
Currin said he has yet to decide if he'll endorse one of the three Republican candidates interested in Payne's seat so far.
Two years ago, Currin supported George Landrith, who ran an aggressive campaign but lost to Payne in a close race.
KEYWORDS: HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE VIRGINIA by CNB