Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 23, 1994 TAG: 9403230145
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER Note: lede
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
With less than a month left before the filing deadline for the Democratic primary, rumors floated that Wilder's on-again, off-again flirtation with the Senate seat might be heating up once more.
A former political aide said some Wilder intimates are exploring how Wilder might avoid the time-consuming task of getting 14,865 signatures needed for the June 14 primary ballot - either by running as an independent this fall or by mounting a write-in campaign.
April 15 is the deadline for signatures to reach the State Board of Elections if a candidate wants to be on the primary ballot.
A confidante of Wilder's also noted the former governor's continuing dissatisfaction with incumbent Sen. Charles Robb as the Democratic nominee. ``He, like everybody else across Virginia, hardly feels they have a quality choice'' in Robb and GOP front-runner Oliver North, said Ray Boone, editor of the Richmond Free Press weekly newspaper.
Wilder toyed with the attention by telling The Washington Post, ``I can't contradict your sources.'' The Post quoted two unnamed sources saying Wilder is rethinking an earlier decision not to seek the job.
Wilder did not reply to a request for an interview.
Meanwhile, Goode - a 47-year-old populist and conservative from Rocky Mount - called a press conference for 10 a.m. today, and a half-dozen sources said he is planning to launch a bid for the Democratic nomination.
``I'll be making a statement tomorrow, and it relates to the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate,'' Goode said Tuesday in a telephone call from his law office. He declined to elaborate.
Goode plans to announce that he will enter the race if he can collect 20,000 signature by the April 15 deadline, confirmed a Franklin County Democrat with ties to Goode. Both Democratic and Republican critics of Robb, who is a former governor and one-term senator, praised Goode's apparent decision.
``I think he'd be excellent. I have the greatest amount of respect for him,'' said Paul Goldman, a former Democratic Party chairman and a longtime political ally of Wilder's.
Although Goode is on the conservative side of many issues, Goldman noted that he is progressive on racial ones. He was one of the first prominent white Virginians to endorse Wilder's bids for lieutenant governor in 1985 and governor in 1989. He nominated Wilder, who is black, at Democratic conventions in both years.
A spokesman for Robb, who has amassed more than $1.3 million for his re-election fight, shrugged off the activity. ``It really doesn't make any difference who tests the water or jumps into the pond at this late date,'' said Bert Rohrer. ``We're in the thing to win.''
Other politicos noted the difficulty of Goode's trying to defeat an incumbent who has a major financial and organizational head start.
But analysts also noted that this is an unusual political year. Robb has been damaged by more than five years of negative political stories, stemming from his socializing in Virginia Beach while governor a decade ago. Staff
writers Dwayne Yancey and David M. Poole contributed information to this story.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB