Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 18, 1993 TAG: 9312180051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROB EURE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Warner, the moderate U.S. senator whose free-wheeling partisan style has infuriated some factions in his party over the years, is questioning the qualifications of the GOP's likely 1994 nominee for the state's other Senate seat, Oliver North.
"He's an enigma to me," Warner said. "He has a distinguished combat record; but beyond that, what has he done that he brings to the Senate in terms of knowledge and experience?"
Warner said he is "working very hard to encourage the widest field of candidates" for the nomination.
North is the acknowledged front-runner in the GOP nomination race, with strong support among religious conservatives, a wing of the party that has controlled recent nominations. Former federal budget director Jim Miller entered the race Thursday, and former federal prosecutor Jay Stephens is expected to do likewise.
However, GOP sources suggested Friday that some Republicans may recruit an independent candidate, bypassing the party's convention in June.
"If you had a guy out there who was an independent conservative, just offering himself in a contest Warner with North and Wilder, he could cause serious trouble," one longtime Republican said.
That seat is held by Democrat Charles Robb. But Robb, battered by scandal during his first term, faces a serious threat from Gov. Douglas Wilder, who plans to challenge him in a primary.
"It's clear that John Warner is much better friends with Chuck Robb than with Oliver North," said Mark Merritt, North's deputy campaign manager. "It's also clear that Chuck Robb would much rather run against Dr. Jim Miller than Oliver North."
The prospect of a Republican bypassing the party nomination to run as an independent is a new twist to speculation about the Senate seat.
Democrats had feared, and Wilder had hinted, that without a primary, Wilder would bolt their party to run as an independent. Now that a primary is set, Wilder would be barred by law from an independent bid if he runs in the primary and loses.
One potential Republican candidate is Richard Cullen, a former U.S. attorney for the eastern half of the state. Cullen's political career began as an aid to former Rep. Caldwell Butler of Roanoke. Cullen recently mustered support for Wilder's one-gun-a-month purchase limit from Republicans and businessmen.
Cullen is heading Gov.-elect George Allen's task force on abolition of parole and sentencing reform - the central thrust of Allen's 1994 agenda.
Warner was labeled an occasional Republican last month in an editorial by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, often an influential voice in the GOP establishment. The paper criticized his failure to endorse Mike Farris, the party's candidate for lieutenant governor this fall. Farris, an evangelical Christian, won 46 percent of the vote in what otherwise was a landslide year for Virginia Republicans.
Warner becomes the second prominent Republican to question North's qualifications this week. On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Robert Dole of Kansas essentially endorsed Miller at a Richmond fund-raising breakfast for U.S. Rep. Thomas Bliley.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB