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

DATE: SATURDAY, November 11, 1995                   TAG: 9511120013
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

GOP'S FIGHTING CHANCE LEADS TO COSTLY FIGHT

State Sen. Madison Marye once got along just fine with campaigns that consisted of bumper stickers, brochures and some folksy radio commercials.

Those homespun tactics were not enough this year as the Shawsville Democrat was targeted as part of a Republican attempt to grab control of the Virginia Senate.

Marye, 69, survived by adapting to the demands of a modern campaign. He hired pollsters, acquired computerized mailing lists, retained a media consultant and even rented one of those newfangled cellular telephones.

All of this costs money - way more than the cattle farmer would have imagined spending in his previous six campaigns. Marye penned a single check, $23,538 for television time, which almost equaled the entire amount he spent in his previous most expensive contest.

The competitive nature of this week's General Assembly elections drove the cost of admission to the legislature to unprecedented levels:

Seventy-two candidates raised more than $100,000, more than triple the number of candidates who broke that plateau four years ago when all seats were on the ballot.

Legislative candidates already had raised $18.7 million one week before this campaign ended, up from $10.3 million spent by all candidates in the entire 1991 campaign.

In the House of Delegates, lawmakers with major party challengers raised an average of $94,695, more than double what incumbents in similar situations spent four years ago.

These figures - based on a computer analysis by The Roanoke Times and its sister paper in Norfolk, The Virginian-Pilot, of campaign activity through Oct. 25 - will rise next month when candidates provide a final accounting of campaign expenses.

"I'm not surprised," because there were more tight races this year, said Scott Leake, director of the Joint Republican Legislative Caucus. "When someone is in a competitive race, they raise money and raise money until they can't raise any more."

The skyrocketing expenditures could renew calls for campaign spending limits. Virginia is one of only eight states with no limits on campaign contributions.

Democratic lawmakers who had been cool to limits saw firsthand how big-dollar Republican contributors can reshape a campaign. The most dramatic example was in the Roanoke Valley, where two wealthy brothers gave $80,000 each to GOP opponents to Democratic Dels. Richard Cranwell and Clifton "Chip" Woodrum.

Paul Goldman, a former Democratic Party chairman, said Democrats should seize upon campaign finance reform as a major issue in the upcoming General Assembly session.

Such reforms, Goldman said, would protect Democrats from high-rolling Republican money in the future and earn Democrats credit for trying to tame the shrill, negative campaigns that hit every mailbox and every television this fall.

"People are sick of it," he said. "The Democrats should seize the high ground."

There was a reason this year's campaigns were so expensive. The Nov. 7 General Assembly elections marked the first time Republicans had a real chance to take control of the legislature. Both sides raised the stakes: It was nothing for challengers to spend more than what a well-funded incumbent used to spend.

The additional money did not guarantee success. Four years ago, state Sen. Edgar Robb, R-Charlottesville, spent $70,000 as a challenger and won. This year, he spent $250,000 as an incumbent and lost.

Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews of Hampton outpaced all candidates with more than $400,000 - and lost. Sen. Clarence Holland, D-Virginia Beach, also lost, despite spending more than $250,000.

Andrews and Holland lost to challengers who each received more than $50,000 in last-minute support from the Republican Party.

In Montgomery County, Marye spent $98,296 through Oct. 25, more than three times his previous record of $30,000.

Across the state, fellow Democrat Richard Holland was in a similar situation. Holland is a banker from rural Isle of Wight County. He had never been opposed and didn't really know how to go about raising big money. He learned, bringing in $167,000 to save his seat.

``He was only opposed in his first race 16 years ago,'' said Richard Keeling, Holland's campaign manager. ``He'd never had any [big] money before last November.'' Times have changed.