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Election
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The Webster decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which gave states increased power to restrict abortions, injected an unexpected emotionally-charged issue into the race for governor. Neither candidate immediately embraced the topic as a base for their campaign platforms.
Only with some hesitation did they begin discussing abortion when circumstance thrust the issue upon them. Wilder favors abortion rights. Coleman opposes abortion except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. Both support requiring parental notification for a minor seeking abortion.
Now, just days before election day, abortion has become the issue. “Tragically,” Nov. 7 may become a referendum on abortion, said Sabato. A Washington Post poll conducted last week indicated 54 percent of those interviewed considered abortion “very important” in their choice for governor.
Wilder, who homed in on abortion during October, appears to be the benefactor. A poll conducted this month by the Survey Research Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University found 63 percent of Virginia adults are opposed to new laws in Virginia that would restrict a woman’s ability to obtain an abortion. In the Post poll, Wilder led Coleman by 18 percentage points among single-issue abortion voters.
But Wilder has taken the abortion issue as far as it can go, say political observers. The ballot has already been cast by those wrho have considered the statewide election a referendum on abortion. The remaining undecided voters will be swayed by other factors.
Clearly transportation spans the top of the list of concerns of Northern Virginians. Although both candidates have proposed similar methods of financing construction projects, they have wrestled over what body should oversee such projects. Coleman is calling for a regional transportation authority, comprised of local governments who choose to join, to expedite construction. Wilder favors continuing the initiatives of Gov. Gerald L. Baliles’ administration and has labeled the authority another layer of bureaucracy.
88.9%