
DATE: Friday, October 24, 1997              TAG: 9710240657

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  141 lines

BEYER-GILMORE CAMPAIGN IS MOST COSTLY EVER IN VA.

Money pouring into the governor's race from out of state is helping to make the contest the most expensive ever in Virginia.

Republican candidate James S. Gilmore III has raised 25 percent of his money, $1.7 million, from out-of-state sources. His opponent, Democrat Donald S. Beyer, has received $744,000, or nearly 13 percent of his total, from outside Virginia.

More than $1 million of Gilmore's non-Virginia contributions is ``soft money'' - cash contributed to parties rather than directly to a candidate. Beyer has received $85,000 from national party sources.

Virginia does not restrict who can give to a campaign or how much an individual, political action committee or business can give.

Politicians defend the state's campaign finance rules, arguing that Virginia requires full disclosure. But when a national political organization like the Republican National Committee gives $425,000 to Gilmore, it's difficult for citizens to know exactly where that money came from unless they do a little extra digging.

The national committees are required to file documents with the Federal Election Commission showing the source and size of each donation. If the party gives to a Virginia race, it also must file with the state Board of Elections.

The Republican National Committee and the Republican Senatorial Committee filed the state reports late - just this week - after making an inquiry into the state law. The Republican Congressional Committee asked on Wednesday about the state law but has not yet filed its report, said Bruce Meadows, secretary of the election board.

According to the law, those reports should have been filed along with the first donations, some of which showed up in Gilmore's records last spring.

Beyer has received $70,000 from the Democratic Governor's Association and $15,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Those committees have filed their reports with the state, Meadows said.

The Republican Party has given so heavily because leaders hope that if Gilmore is elected, Republicans will gain momentum in other elections and that their agenda will gain popularity, officials said.

Mary Crawford, a spokeswoman for the Republican Congressional Committee, which gave Gilmore $25,000, said that congressional redistricting is set to begin in two or three years and that the party wants Republicans in state office.

``We want to be sure we get a fair shake,'' Crawford said. ``(The governor's race) becomes very, very important to us to help ensure that Republicans are at the table. In virtually every state, who is the governor is important.''

On Wednesday, Beyer received another soft-money contribution from out of state: $20,000 from the Democratic National Committee. The donation will be reported in the next cycle, said Michelle Kucera, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Democratic Party.

Kucera said that the party also has provided staff for Beyer's campaign, which will be reported as an in-kind contribution at the end of the race.

Beyer, said spokeswoman Page Boinest, expected that Gilmore would receive large contributions from the Republican Party.

``We knew that Don Beyer wouldn't have that kind of money from the Democratic Party,'' Boinest said.

Even so, the amount of money raised in this campaign already has exceeded the contributions raised in the 1993 contest between George Allen and Mary Sue Terry. As of Oct. 1, Gilmore had raised more than $6.6 million and Beyer had raised $5.8 million.

In addition to the contributions from party organizations and special interest groups, individuals and businesses from outside Virginia have contributed heavily to the race.

So why do folks outside Virginia care who governs the commonwealth?

Some contributors have said they know and respect the candidates; others say they like the ideals their candidate espouses. For others, it's just good business sense - even though they live out of state, they have ties to Virginia businesses.

Lewis Eisenberg, CEO of Granite Capital in New York, gave Gilmore $5,000 after he happened to hear him speak ``somewhere.'' Eisenberg couldn't remember the circumstances but said that he was impressed with the Republican.

``My wife and I were struck that Mr. Gilmore is truly conservative, a common-sense conservative,'' Eisenberg said. ``He avows the fiscal conservatism and social inclusionism which I think is necessary for governors to espouse.''

David Osnos, a Washington, D.C., attorney with Arent Fox, said he gave Beyer $2,500 because his firm represents people who live in Virginia.

``I live in Maryland, but I have a lot of clients who live or have a lot of financial interest in Virginia,'' Osnos said. ``I have known Don Beyer for a lot of years. He's a really decent human being. I like him for that. He has business sense and good economic sense. Real business know-how.''

But campaign finance reports list people from places like Arizona, California, Tennessee and Texas. It's impossible to tell from those reports what interests individuals have in the campaign.

Thomas A. Saunders III, a New York investment banker, gave Gilmore $35,000 and Beyer $10,000. He did not return phone calls inquiring about his contributions. Spokespeople for both Gilmore and Beyer said that Saunders has ties to the state.

Jack R. Anderson, of Venture Capital in Dallas, gave Gilmore $5,000; Mel Sembler, a real estate developer in St. Petersburg, Fla., gave $10,000; John Moran, an investor in Palm Beach, Fla., also gave $10,000.

According to Reed Boatright, a spokesman in Gilmore's office, those contributors are movers and shakers in the Republican Party.

Boatright said a lot of Republicans are giving in Virginia because this is one of only two major gubernatorial races in the country, and the other - in New Jersey - has strict limits on contributions.

Boatright said Republicans now are taking advantage of a system of off-year elections originally designed to give Democrats the advantage.

Crawford, of the Republican Congressional Committee, said her group contributed heavily to Virginia because there are ``very few other races going on like this, so there are more resources available.''

``There's not as much competition for resources,'' Crawford said. ``There's only one special congressional election this year. We did donate more money because of that.''

Mike Russell, a spokesman for the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, said gubernatorial races serve as part of a ``building process for national candidates.''

``Of the races that we're going to do on a statewide level, they will be high-profile and will speak volumes about the growth and direction of the party,'' Russell said.

While the national Democratic Party hasn't contributed heavily to this race so far, President Clinton showed up recently at a fund-raiser for Beyer. Most of the $600,000 in donations from that fund-raiser in early October were not included in the latest reports, party officials said.

Ira Lechner, an attorney who lives in California, gave Beyer $10,000. Lechner sat in the Virginia legislature in the 1970s and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1981.

He said he gave to Beyer because the candidate has a vision for Virginia's future and is a friend. Lechner said he also believes that Beyer is a threat to Republicans because he can show the country that a moderate Democrat can be successful.

Individuals from outside Virginia contributed almost evenly to each of the campaigns, giving more than $280,000 to Gilmore and nearly $218,000 to Beyer. MEMO: News Researcher Diana Diehl contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: FUND RAISING

GRAPHIC

KEN WRIGHT

The Virginian-Pilot

[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]

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