THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996                TAG: 9603070463
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                           LENGTH: Short :   39 lines

GOP DEBATE BETWEEN WARNER, MILLER IS OFF THE STICKING POINT: A DEMAND BY MILLER FOR MORE DEBATES.

The only debate scheduled between the two Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate was canceled Tuesday after challenger James C. Miller III presented a last-minute list of demands.

The Virginia Federation of Republican Women scratched the Friday afternoon event in Williamsburg after Miller said he would participate only if incumbent John W. Warner would debate four more times.

Warner declined, saying a busy Senate schedule this spring prevented him from committing to more debates.

The three-term senator said that be thinks the lesser-known Miller is hoping publicity from a series of debates will help him become better known to voters.

``I'm not going to carry my opponent across the state and introduce him to voters,'' Warner said in January when initially refusing to commit to debates.

Miller, a former federal budget director in the Reagan administration, told reporters in January that he would participate in the group's debate. But late Monday, he made his demand for additional debates.

``My hands are tied,'' said Jane S. Smith, president of the Virginia Federation of Republican Women, who canceled the debate. ``I can't control Sen. Warner's schedule.''

Smith said her group distributed 800 tickets to the debate and is busy calling people to tell them that the event is off. ``It's too bad,'' she said.

``I think Jim Miller has passed up a golden opportunity.'' by CNB