United States Senate election in Virginia, 1994

United States Senate election in Virginia, 1994

November 7, 1994

Turnout 43.6% (voting eligible)[1]   Nominee Chuck Robb Oliver North J. Marshall Coleman Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 938,376 882,213 235,324 Percentage 45.6% 42.9% 11.4%

U.S. Senate election results map. Blue denotes counties/districts won by Robb. Red denotes those won by North.

U.S. Senator before election Chuck Robb Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Chuck Robb Democratic

The 1994 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 7, 1994. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Chuck Robb won re-election to a second term.

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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

General election

Candidates

• Chuck Robb (D), incumbent U.S. Senator since 1989 and former Governor of Virginia
• Oliver North (R), Marine Corps veteran
• Marshall Coleman (I), former Attorney General of Virginia and former member of the Virginia Republican Party

Polling

Source	Date	Robb (D)	North (R)	Coleman (I)	Wilder (I)
Mason-Dixon	November 1-2, 1994	37%	36%	17%
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^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Chuck Robb (inc.)	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	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

References

1. Dr. Michael McDonald (March 25, 2013). "Turnout 1980-2012". George Mason University. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
2. IMDb: A Perfect candidate
3. "Ollie, Inc.: how Oliver North raised over $20 million in a losing U.S. Senate race". Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
4. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1994/94Stat.htm