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Campaign
nears end with
race still close
By MARY K. BLEWITT
Arundel Newspapers State Writer
Republican J. Marshall Coleman and Democrat LC Gov. L. Douglas Wilder are entering the final lap of Virginia’s gubernatorial race.
For the most part, the handshaking and baby kissing s over. The candidates have ceased touring the nooks ind crannies of the Commonwealth, and the race is being ought amidst prime-time television shows and top-40 fits in the final days before the Nov. 7 election. Advertisng is key, and much will depend upon the impression the candidates’ ads are able to imprint upon the undecided.
See candidate survey, p. 11
In fashion with today’s politics, the statewide campaign has stepped waist-high in mud, leaving voters wading through distortions to reach the truth. Politicians from both parties have deemed the 1989 gubernatorial race the most negative in Virginia’s history. According to political analysts Thomas R. Morris at University of Richmond and Dr. Larry Sabato at LTniversity of Virginia, more of the same can be expected.
“Coleman is going to continue negative advertising against Wilder to try to shake lose some of the positive image" Wilder has capture^, predicted Morris.
Wilder will also stay on course, stressing Coleman's negative advertising as unfair and distorted. The Democratic candidate may also release some "feel good" ads. attempting to show that his term would continue in the tradition of former governor and U. S. Sen. Charles S. Robb and Gov. Gerald L. Raliles. according to Morris.
While the mud-slinging is making history in Virginia, it faces competition in New Jersey, the only other state in the country holding an election for governor this November. New Jersey’s gubernatorial candidates, Republican James Courier and Democrat James Florio, are airing “pinnochio ads” depicting each other's nose growing as a result of distortions and untruths.
During recent months, the Virginia candidates have struggled for voter’s attention, losing front page and top story coverage to such devastating events as Hurricane Hugo,, the San Francisco Earthquake and — closer to home — the Amtrak train crash in Fauquier County. Issues addressed by the candidates include crime, drugs, education, quality of life, taxes, and transportation. Without a doubt, though, the issue that has played the leading role in the campaigns is abortion.
See ELECTION, p. 3
65.1%