Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.metro From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Big-name hunt for Va. GOP Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 15:23:03 EST Message-ID: \SE B;METROPOLITAN \HD Big-name hunt for Va. GOP \SH Waxing wishful without Warner \BY Laurie Kellman \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES In 1979, newly elected Sen. John Warner of Virginia confided to his aides that he had a dream: to serve two terms in the Senate, then run for governor. Many Virginia Republicans came to share that dream, seeing Mr. Warner - the most popular statewide officeholder - as their best chance to kick the Democrats out of the Governor's Mansion for the first time in 12 years. But in April, after state GOP officials pressed him for a decision, Mr. Warner announced he wouldn't run for governor in 1993, saying he didn't want incumbent Democratic Gov. L. Douglas Wilder to appoint someone to finish his Senate term. His decision has sparked an undercurrent of wishful thinking among Republicans who now must choose between three candidates with little statewide name recognition - McLean businessman Earle C. Williams, Rep. George Allen Jr. of Charlottesville and state Delegate Clinton Miller of Woodstock - at a convention in June. As the likely Democratic candidate, Attorney General Mary Sue Terry, sits uncontested on a million-dollar war chest, some Virginia Republicans are grumbling about wasting time and money on the nomination process rather than piling full-force behind a single heavyweight. The grumbling has spawned rumors that some high-profile Republicans were considering the race. Even as late as last week, days before Mr. Allen formally announced his candidacy, the Republican rumor mill was thick with the names of several prominent party members who were believed to be considering bids. With little prompting, Mr. Williams ticked off their names Thursday night at a GOP dinner in Arlington. "Let me guess: Stan Parris, John Warner, Marshall Coleman," he said, counting on his fingers. Asked specifically about Mr. Warner, Mr. Williams shook his head. "It'll never happen. It'll never happen." Add to that list former Sen. Paul S. Trible Jr. and you've got the complete collection of Republican names being bandied about the Old Dominion last week as possible contenders for the GOP nomination. For the record, only Mr. Parris, who has lost two bids for the gubernatorial nomination, is still considering a run. Even as GOP officials brushed aside those rumors, they admitted that offering three relative unknowns for the state's highest office isn't ideal for a party that hasn't held the governorship in more than a decade. "None of these candidates have run statewide, and so they're all in the process of becoming better-known and making their case to a lot of new people," said Mr. Trible, who said he had "no interest" in joining the fray. "John and Marshall and Stan and I are all, at this time, better-known. The Republicans are looking for a winner, and they know our names." "Obviously, the Republicans would love to have a statewide candidate like a Mary Sue Terry to run against a Mary Sue Terry, but we don't," said James Lamb, executive director of the Fairfax County Republican Committee. Right now, he said, a millionaire businessman, a congressman and a state delegate are "the best we could ask for. I don't see any candidates that are better." Meanwhile, state Republican officials are planning to head off what they suspect will become a divisive, ugly battle. Infighting has already erupted among the campaigns. Last week, two supporters of Mr. Allen's urged Mr. Williams to fire his campaign spokesman, Steve Haner, for reportedly boasting of plans to make Mr. Allen "so radioactive that no one will want to touch him." Mr. Williams called the charges "merely Allen campaign propaganda," and is keeping Mr. Haner as his director of communications and research. To put an end to such scuffling, state party leaders this week scheduled a Dec. 4 "Unity Dinner" in Richmond in hopes that good food and a friendly atmosphere will foster a tacit agreement that the party will unite after the nomination, no matter who wins it. * Lorraine Woellert contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM