THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610250738
SECTION: VOTER GUIDE PAGE: V6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Special Section
Voter Guide covering the candidates and campaign issues in the races for
President, U.S. Senator from Virginia, and area Representatives
SERIES: DECISION '96
LENGTH: 39 lines
Incumbent Republican John Warner is seeking a fourth term, touting his now-majority seniority and No. 2 position on the Armed Services Committee as political boons for the commonwealth.
Challenger Mark Warner - no relation to his opponent - is seeking his first elected office, promising a fresh voice and modern perspective at a time when the nation's economy is becoming increasingly high-tech.
Money has been a campaign issue from the start. Mark Warner spends his own - more than $5 million by October. Former chairman of the state Democratic Party, he has earned more than $100 million in the cellular phone business.
John Warner he has raised more Political Action Committee dollars than all but a handful of U.S. Senators.
The money of the nation also has been a dominant theme. Both candidates are at their most pointed when debating the state of the economy and their plans to bring federal spending under control.
Even before John Warner opposed Republican Oliver L. North's bid for the Senate in 1994, he was one of Virginia's most popular politicians. So far this year, polls suggest that image has held.
A faked photo in early October brought the race national scrutiny.
A John Warner television advertisement, considered his first foray of the year into negative campaigning, featured a fabricated photograph of his opponent and Bill Clinton. The original photograph showed Democratic Sen. Charles S. Robb shaking the president's hand. Mark Warner's head was digitally superimposed.
John Warner apologized and pulled the ad off the air, accepting responsibility but blaming his media producer for the deception.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE VIRGINIA CANDIDATES
STATUS by CNB