ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ROSSLYN
SOURCE: Associated Press
Oliver North said Monday he doesn't know if his 11th-hour endorsement of Jim Miller will be enough to help the Senate challenger avenge North's own Senate loss two years ago.
``I don't know, and I wrestled with that when I did the endorsement,'' North said during a break in his daily radio talk show.
North said that before he inserted himself in the Virginia race, he wanted to make sure he could help, not hurt, Miller's challenge to Sen. John Warner.
Warner, a three-term Republican, is seeking re-election over the open hostility of many of the leaders of his state party organization who blame him for North's narrow loss to Sen. Charles Robb in 1994.
Warner called North unfit to serve in the Senate because of his role in the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal. He backed hand-picked independent candidate Marshall Coleman instead.
North had remained officially neutral in this year's Senate contest. But after months on the sidelines, North summoned his faithful to Miller's cause Saturday during the state Republican Party convention in Salem, telling them Warner must pay for his behavior.
In the highlight of the two-day meeting, North told screaming supporters to seek out others who voted for North in 1994 and urge them to go the polls next Tuesday for the state Republican primary.
Miller spent his first full day on the campaign trail as North's political heir Monday, while Warner received an endorsement from conservative colleague Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Miller hopes the North endorsement will be the Cinderella kiss that wakes up his underfunded campaign.
It's unclear whether Miller, a Washington insider who talks up his connections to the Reagan White House as frequently as he does his Christian right credentials, will satisfy bedrock North supporters.
North rallied crowds and raised more than $20million by appealing to voter anger at Washington and its incumbents.
One Virginia caller to North's nationally syndicated show Monday praised North, urged him to run for office again but did not mention Miller. The caller, identified only as Chad from Abingdon, said he attended the Salem convention and had a picture taken with North.
``With your presence there, it really lifted it up,'' Chad said. ``I tell you, buddy, I'd follow you anywhere.''
North plans no campaign appearances with Miller, although he will likely sign a fund-raising letter that will be mailed this week to North supporters.
``In the perfect world, I'd like them to go hand-in-hand across the state,'' Miller spokesman Bill Kling said Monday. ``But there's only so many days left.''
Warner, meanwhile, is playing his Washington connections for all his three terms in the Senate are worth.
A string of senators and other Washington figures have endorsed him. McCain, a GOP star with hawkish defense credentials, praised Warner at a fund-raising reception in Norfolk for Warner's work on defense issues.
GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole, who already has endorsed Warner, will appear Saturday with him at a dinner that also features retired Gen. Colin Powell.
Miller campaigned in Western Virginia, with stops in Christiansburg, Pulaski, Marion, Galax and other places. He is concentrating on rural areas, where his support is strongest. Such places were also the base of North's support.
To win, Miller must overcome Warner's strong advantage in money and organization by turning out large numbers of the state's most conservative voters.
Warner has collected $2.5million so far, while his challenger has brought in about $1million, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed last week.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB