THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 24, 1995 TAG: 9501240299
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEC KLEIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
U.S. Sen. John W. Warner - part maverick, part gentleman farmer - remains Virginia's most popular politician, yet he is vulnerable to challenges within his own party for the 1996 nomination, according to an independent poll issued Monday.
Warner, a Republican, won the approval of 55 percent of 809 registered voters surveyed statewide - higher than Gov. George F. Allen's 48 percent in a poll last week and U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb's 46 percent in the November election.
Warner's approval numbers - in recent years as high as 69 percent - have stayed remarkably steady since September despite his open opposition to Oliver L. North, the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate.
He has also weathered the fury of conservatives who blamed him for not backing home-schooling champion Michael P. Farris, also a Republican, in his failed bid for lieutenant governor in 1993.
Warner ``really has not been scathed by the parting of ways with the religious right and with the squabble with Oliver North,'' said Del Ali, vice president of Maryland-based Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc., which conducted the poll from Jan. 16 to 18.
The survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, was commissioned by several news organizations, including The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star and the Roanoke Times & World-News.
Warner is viewed ``as a gentleman, a Virginia gentleman, I might add, and a statesman,'' Ali said. ``Democrats like him, Republicans like him.''
Well, not all Republicans.
``I don't put much stock in polling right now,'' said state Republican party chairman Patrick M. McSweeney, echoing other GOP party leaders disaffected with Warner. ``(Warner) has not really had close scrutiny of his record, so a whole lot of things could change. It's not a safe seat.''
Indeed, Warner's favorable rating drops 10 points and his unfavorables rise 5 points among voters who say they will vote in next year's Republican nominating process.
In a Republican contest with James C. Miller III, a former Reagan administration budget director, Warner clings to a narrow lead - 41 percent to 36 percent - according to the survey.
Perhaps more troubling for the senator is that 43 percent said they would consider another candidate and 15 percent would replace him.
Warner, however, won strong overall support in virtually every region across the state. He also did well against potential rivals to his Senate seat in a general election.
In a matchup with former Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, Warner leads 53 percent to 33 percent. In a three-way contest between Warner, Wilder and Miller, Warner wins again.
``I just hope Virginia Republicans keep their eye on the goal, which is to keep this Senate seat Republican,'' said Susan Magill, Warner's chief of staff. ``. . . I think the numbers speak for themselves.''
KEYWORDS: POLL SURVEY by CNB