
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 26, 1994                   TAG: 9411280052
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

MILLER JOINS RACE TO BEAT WARNER

Jim Miller says he'd rather run against fellow Republican John Warner than help the GOP balance the federal budget, making him the latest to line up for a chance to oust Virginia's senior senator.

Miller this week turned down a chance to direct the Congressional Budget Office under the new Republican majority in Congress. Instead, he will devote his attention to helping GOP candidates in Virginia next year and laying the groundwork for another race of his own.

``'96 is something I'm going to look at very, very seriously,'' Miller said in an interview. ``The Republican Party of Virginia is split absolutely asunder and I think I'm the one that can unite the party and take it to victory.''

Miller lost the Republican Senate nomination this year to Oliver North, who was defeated by Democrat Sen. Charles Robb. Some pundits say Miller likely would have beaten the incumbent in a year when Republicans won virtually every other major race nationwide.

But Miller said he will not be delivering an ``I told you so'' message to party regulars. ``I think it's unfair. We need to start from where we are and go forward,'' he said.

Miller, who led the Department of Management and Budget under President Reagan, could face opposition in 1996 not only from Warner but from Michael Farris, the failed lieutenant governor candidate last year.

Farris blames Warner for his defeat and North's loss this year and has made no secret of his interest in ousting the senator. Farris has been sporting an ``Is It 1996 Yet?'' bumper sticker on his truck for months.

Warner refused to endorse either Farris or North, favorites of the party's most conservative activists. The senator has said he will seek his fourth term in two years.

Farris, a home schooling advocate, said he will announce next month whether he will run. He admitted being concerned about Miller entering the race as well.

``There might be a danger with two conservatives,'' he said. But he insisted Warner still would lose if Republicans hold a convention.

The race is wide open, according to a survey of 1,000 delegates who attended either the 1993 or 1994 GOP conventions.

by CNB