DATE: Tuesday, October 28, 1997             TAG: 9710280285

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   37 lines

BEYER CAMPAIGN IS RUNNING ON EMPTY, FINANCIAL REPORTS REVEAL

Democrat Donald S. Beyer Jr.'s gubernatorial campaign has gone into debt, according to financial reports filed Monday with the state Board of Elections.

The campaign reported borrowing a total of $400,000 this month - $350,000 in a loan from NationsBank and another $50,000 from supporter Harris N. Miller.

Despite the loans, Beyer had only $232,000 in his campaign treasury as of Oct. 22, according to the reports. Republican James S. Gilmore III, on the other hand, had almost $1.2 million on the same date.

Besides the loan, Beyer raised $1.3 million during the first three weeks of October and spent $1.9 million.

During the same period, Gilmore raised $2.2 million and spent $2.1 million. It was the second month in a row that Gilmore, who has a slight lead in polls, raised significantly more than Beyer.

Page Boinest, a spokeswoman for Beyer, said the campaign's financial problems are insignificant. ``We've already paid for everything we need through Election Day,'' she said. ``We're at the point we need to be.''

The loans were backed by Beyer and seven other Virginia businessmen. They include Stuart C. Siegel, the chief executive of S&K Famous Brands Inc.; William C. Cranwell, owner of several nursing homes and the brother of House Majority Leader C. Richard Cranwell; and James E. Ukrop, co-owner of a Richmond-area grocery chain.

Boinest said the campaign is confident it will be able to retire its debt.

All told, Gilmore has raised $9.4 million and spent $8.2 million. The Republican National Committee has contributed almost $1 million to the campaign.

Beyer has raised a total of $6.7 million and spent $6.9 million. KEYWORDS: ELECTION CANDIDATE CAMPAIGN FINANCING

GUBERNATORIAL RACE VIRGINIA

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