1994 United States Senate election in Virginia

The 1994 United States Senate election in Virginia was held November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Chuck Robb won re-election to a second term.

1994 United States Senate election in Virginia

November 8, 1994
Turnout	43.6% (voting eligible)[1]
Nominee Chuck Robb Oliver North Marshall Coleman Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 938,376 882,213 235,324 Percentage 45.6% 42.9% 11.4%
Results by County and Independent City Robb:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% North:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election Chuck Robb Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Chuck Robb Democratic

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Sylvia Clute
• Virgil Goode, State Senator from Rocky Mount
• Chuck Robb, incumbent Senator since 1989
• Nancy Spannaus, Lyndon LaRouche movement activist

Convention

1994 Virginia Democratic convention[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chuck Robb (incumbent)	543	49.86%
	Democratic	Virgil Goode	240	22.04%
	Democratic	Douglas Wilder (draft effort)	189	17.36%
	Democratic	Sylvia Clute	61	5.60%
	Democratic	Nancy Spannaus	56	5.14%
Total votes			1,089	100.00%

There was an attempt to draft Governor Doug Wilder to run against Robb, but he chose to run as an independent candidate.

Primary

1994 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chuck Robb (incumbent)	154,561	57.90%
	Democratic	Virgil Goode	90,547	33.92%
	Democratic	Sylvia Clute	17,329	6.49%
	Democratic	Nancy Spannaus	4,507	1.69%
Total votes			266,944	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

• James C. Miller III, former Director of the Office of Management and Budget
• Oliver North, Marine Corps veteran

Convention

North won a majority of the vote at the convention. He was not opposed in the primary.

Independents and third parties

Independents

• J. Marshall Coleman, former Virginia Attorney General and candidate for Governor in 1989
• Douglas Wilder, outgoing Governor of Virginia (withdrew)

General election

Campaign

Oliver North was a very controversial figure as he was involved in the Iran-Contra Affair, a scandal during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Marshall Coleman attempted to seize the middle ground between Robb and North. Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia endorsed Marshall Coleman. On the eve of the election, former first lady Nancy Reagan told a reporter that North had lied to her husband when discussing Iran-Contra with the former president, effectively eviscerating him. North's candidacy was documented in the 1996 film A Perfect Candidate.[4]

In his failed bid to unseat Robb, North raised $20.3 million in a single year through nationwide direct mail solicitations, telemarketing, fundraising events, and contributions from major donors. About $16 million of that amount was from direct mail alone. This was the biggest accumulation of direct mail funds for a statewide campaign to that date, and it made North the top direct mail political fundraiser in the country in 1994.[5]

Douglas Wilder, the first black governor of Virginia, who served from 1990 to 1994, originally entered the Senate race as an independent before dropping out.

Polling

Source	Date	Chuck Robb (D)	Oliver North (R)	Marshall Coleman (I)	Douglas Wilder (I)
Mason-Dixon	November 1–2, 1994	37%	36%	17%
Richmond Times-Dispatch	October 31 – November 3, 1994	39%	31%	12%
Roanoke College	October 27–30, 1994	39%	35%	14%
Mason-Dixon	October 15–17, 1994	33%	37%	16%
Mason-Dixon	September 22–24, 1994	33%	35%	18%
Mason-Dixon	September 8–11, 1994	33%	28%	15%	12%
Virginia Commonwealth University	July 7–15, 1994	29%	29%	11%	16%

Results

United States Senate election in Virginia, 1994[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Chuck Robb (Incumbent)	938,376	45.61%	-25.64%
	Republican	Oliver North	882,213	42.88%	+14.18%
	Independent	J. Marshall Coleman	235,324	11.44%
	Independent	L. Douglas Wilder (withdrew)	113	0.01%
	Write-ins		1,437	0.07%	+0.01%
Majority			56,163	2.73%	-39.83%
Turnout			2,057,463
	Democratic hold		Swing

See also

• 1994 United States Senate elections

References

1. Dr. Michael McDonald (March 25, 2013). "Turnout 1980-2012". George Mason University. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
2. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=15717
3. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=16076
4. IMDb: A Perfect candidate
5. "Ollie, Inc.: how Oliver North raised over $20 million in a losing U.S. Senate race". Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2007.
6. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1994/94Stat.htm