DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710310660

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: DECISION '97

SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   52 lines

GILMORE LEADS IN POLL, MONEY GOP GIVES CANDIDATE ANOTHER $1 MILLION AS POLL PUTS HIM 9 POINTS OVER BEYER

It was a good week for James S. Gilmore III, who reported another $1 million contribution from the national Republican Party and who learned he was 9 points ahead in the latest campaign poll.

So far Gilmore has received more than $2.1 million in donations from the Republican Party and has raised a total of $9.3 million in his bid to be Virginia's next governor. Beyer has raised close to $7.5 million, with only $164,000 from the national Democratic Party.

The $2.1 million in Republican donations has clearly made the difference in the race to raise funds and may have helped push Gilmore up in the polls. Gilmore has been able to spend more money on television ads in recent weeks, while Beyer has struggled to keep his coffers from emptying. Television advertising for Beyer's campaign began to slow down nearly two weeks ago.

A poll, released Thursday, shows 49 percent of the respondents favoring Gilmore, 40 percent favoring Beyer and 11 percent undecided. That research, by Mason-Dixon Political Media Research, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Gilmore's single largest contribution was a $750,000 gift from the U.S. Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. He received another $255,000 from the U.S. Republican State Elections Committee and $4,000 from the Tennessee Republican Party. Gilmore received another $25,000 from the Campaign for Working Families, a national group that raises money for anti-abortion candidates.

Beyer has received a total of $164,000 from Democratic national sources. In the latest reports, he showed a $55,000 contribution from the Democratic Governor's Association, $10,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and more than $9,000 from the Democratic National Jewish Committee. His largest donation this reporting period was a $75,000 in-kind contribution from the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. MEMO: Staff writer Ray Robinson and The Associated Press contributed to

this report. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

VP

WHO'S FAVORED IN THE POLLS

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

SOURCE: Mason-Dixon Poll of Oct. 30

[For complete graphic, please see microfilm] KEYWORDS: ELECTION VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE VIRGINIA

POLLS CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS CAMPAIGN

FINANCING CANDIDATES

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