THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 5, 1997 TAG: 9702050017
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 51 lines
Only once in the 20th century has Virginia elected a governor from Northern Virginia. That was when Chuck Robb won the office in 1981. But Robb's popularity was in spite of, not because of, his address. As the son-in-law of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, he had an allure that transcended regional politics.
Otherwise, for most of the century the area north of the Rappahannock has been considered Virginia's odd appendage, connected to the whole but not really part of the its cultural, economic and political center.
Make way for 1997.
As statewide races approach this fall, the one-time limb is looking increasingly like the trunk of the tree. The arrival of Northern Virginia as the mother lode of money and votes may be ``the'' story of the 1997 campaigns. It is a trend that bodes exceedingly well for Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr., a Falls Church Democrat and Volvo dealer hoping to become the first non-glamour candidate from the region to occupy the governor's chair.
A hint of things to come is provided in a Washington Post analysis of contributions to date in the pending race between Beyer and Attorney General James S. Gilmore III, a Richmond Republican.
The most lopsided regional gap in giving was in Northern Virginia, where Beyer has outcollected Gilmore by 5 to 1. That split almost certainly will narrow as the race progresses. But, with a quarter of the state's registered voters now living in the region, the numbers suggest the depth of the challenge awaiting Gilmore.
Clearly, his foremost battleground will be in the Washington suburbs. Gilmore must find a way to penetrate that Beyer stronghold, where sheer numbers could dictate against his election.
The attorney general has done well in fund raising in the rest of the state. In his native Richmond area, for instance, he has collected twice as much money as Beyer. And in other regions, including Hampton Roads, he is ahead in fund raising, though much more narrowly.
But if most of Virginia splits between the candidates, Gilmore carries Richmond and Beyer wins Northern Virginia by an equal margin, Beyer wins - easily.
For some time now, Northern Virginia has been looking like the 500-pound gorilla of state politics. In this year's elections, Virginians may at last feel the full impact of that weight.
If so, the good news to South Hampton Roads is that many regional priorities - from transportation to managed growth - are similar. The bad news for Jim Gilmore is that he is running for office at a time when command central in state politics is shifting from his home turf to that of his opponent.