Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 17, 1990 TAG: 9005170437
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Officially, Wilder has been invited by Iowa's Democratic Party chairman to stump the state June 22-23 with the winner of the party's gubernatorial primary.
"We invited him because of his unity message and because he won as the result of a coordinated campaign" with his ticket mates, something Iowa Democrats will need to hear after a tough primary fight, said Iowa party Chairman John Roehrick.
Unofficially, Wilder's trip to the state that traditionally holds the first caucuses to select convention delegates heightens speculation that he's angling for a spot on the 1992 national ticket.
The Des Moines Register reported Wednesday that Wilder "has been acting like a candidate for president in recent weeks."
On June 6, he's speaking in New Hampshire, which traditionally holds the first presidential primary. And he's already made two trips to California, which is thinking about moving up its primary to have more influence.
As a result, political commentators are increasingly dropping Wilder's name as a potential candidate for president or vice president. Last week, Newsweek became the latest national publication to examine Wilder's ambitions.
The state's most prominent political analyst, Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia, believes the most likely scenario would be for Wilder to be selected as the party's 1992 candidate for vice president and lose, but then be in a position to seek the presidential nomination in 1996.
"However, the contest is in such complete flux, with no clear runners, much less front-runners, and the publicity is so intense, yes, I would say it's in the realm of possibility" that Wilder could run for president in 1992, Sabato said.
"Will it happen? Who knows? But Wilder, being Wilder, doesn't have to make a decision as early as some candidates do because of the enormous media entourage he'd attract were he to jump into the race. I think he could wait until the summer of '91, or even Labor Day, to privately make a decision. Publicly, he wouldn't have to announce till that fall. The filing deadlines for most states aren't till January, February, March."
Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Paul Goldman, who has been arranging many of Wilder's out-of-state trips, brushed off talk of a national campaign. "The governor's just trying to be helpful" to fellow Democrats, Goldman said.
However, he indicated that Wilder may be helping a lot of Democrats in elections this year. "I was on the phone today - two other states made requests for the governor to help out their candidates," he said.
by CNB