THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604140095
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Businessman Mark R. Warner apparently clinched the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate on Saturday, trouncing two opponents at a series of local political caucuses held across the state.
Warner, an Alexandria cellular-phone magnate whose personal wealth is estimated in excess of $100 million, won more than four of every five delegates who were chosen to make the nomination at the Democratic state convention in June.
As of 11:30 p.m., the state party reported these delegate totals: Warner, 1,889; former U.S. Rep. Leslie L. Byrne of Fairfax, 231; and Nancy B. Spannaus of Lovettsville, a Lyndon LaRouche supporter, 62. Twenty-one uncommitted delegates were also elected.
Warner needed 1,751 delegates to clinch the nomination.
About two-thirds of the 3,500 delegates to the state convention were chosen at the local caucuses on Saturday, and the rest will be chosen Monday night.
Republicans will decide their nomination in a June 11 primary. Three-term incumbent John W. Warner is facing a stiff challenge from James C. Miller III, a former federal budget director under President Reagan from 1985 to 1988.
Mark Warner would not declare victory Saturday night. But, he said, ``I feel very good and gratified by what's happened today.'' ``What we've seen all across the commonwealth is Democrats uniting behind our campaign.''
Warner, 41, is a former state party chairman with close ties to Democratic activists across the state. He has been campaigning for more than a year, pledging support for education and early intervention programs for disadvantaged youths, and billing himself as a youthful leader who understands the technological challenges of the future. Warner already has funneled more than $500,000 of his fortune into his campaign.
Warner carried - often by overwhelming numbers - all localities that held caucuses Saturday except for rural Radford and Montgomery County, which went to Byrne.
In South Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach held their caucuses Saturday. Warner won 382 delegates in the four cities, Spannaus won 36 and Byrne won 6. Suffolk meets Monday.
Byrne, 49, was hoping to make a strong showing in Northern Virginia, but unofficial results showed her having lost to Warner there by 4-to-1.
She entered the race in December, billing herself as an unapologetic liberal and making appeals to labor unions, women and African-Americans.
The former one-term congresswoman said her campaign had filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department to protest a change earlier this week in the party's ballot system. She said the changes were one reason for the lopsided results.
``It's not surprising that when people have been shut out of the process that you have this kind of result,'' Byrne said.
``This is a very strange process that has been made even stranger by this. We are considering a civil suit.''
Byrne said some delegates who registered for the caucuses as her supporters showed up on Saturday's ballots as Warner supporters.
Warner's campaign declined to comment on Byrne's allegations, referring all questions to the state party.
``I believe the system has been fair,'' said state Democratic Chairwoman Sue Wrenn.
``I don't know what she's talking about, as far as changes on the ballot.''
Spannaus is an almost perennial candidate for statewide office. Outside of the LaRouche organization, there appeared to be little support for her. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Warner, a multimillionaire and former state party chairman,
trounced his two opponents
KEYWORDS: SENATE RACE VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATE by CNB