Choice of Lt. Gov. Wilder a First in South This Century : Black Nominated for Governor by Virginia Democrats

Virginia Democrats nominated Lt. Gov. L. Douglas Wilder for governor Saturday, making him the first black to seek that office on a major party ticket in the South during this century.

“The people of Virginia do not want to turn back,” the 58-year-old grandson of slaves declared in his acceptance speech, in which he stressed the state’s progress toward racial harmony in recent years as well as his ties to the Democratic administrations of former Gov. Charles S. Robb and incumbent Gov. Gerald L. Baliles.

“They know Virginia is moving in the right direction,” Wilder said, after being nominated by acclamation and marching to the podium to the theme from “Rocky.” “That is why I am confident they will elect another Virginia Democrat to serve as their governor.”

Presents Opportunities

With their choice for gubernatorial standard-bearer, Democrats here set themselves on a course rich not only in historical significance but also in the political opportunities it offers their party in this region and around the country.

A victory for Wilder, who now appears to have a roughly even-money chance in November, would strengthen Democratic ties to the blacks who make up the most solid segment of their political base. More than that, it would demonstrate that the race issue, which has been a heavy burden for the Democratic Party nationally, can be overcome, even in the heart of the Old Confederacy, given the right candidate and the right circumstances.

To cash in on this potential, Wilder will have to demonstrate that he can maintain his party’s appeal to white centrist voters, who have allowed the Democrats to dominate Virginia politics for the last eight years under Robb and Baliles.

“He’s going to be very competitive,” Robb, now Virginia’s junior U.S. senator who seconded Wilder’s nomination, told a reporter here this weekend. “But a lot depends on what the Republicans do.”

The forthcoming campaign also poses a test for the Republicans, who are striving to extend their two-decades-long domination of presidential politics in Dixie to the state level. To accomplish this, whoever emerges from the three-way Republican primary contest that will be settled Tuesday must prove he can compete against a black candidate without incurring complaints of racism.

‘Outreach Effort’

What makes this task more critical is that the Virginia contest comes as the Republicans are in the midst of an ambitious, nationwide “outreach effort” to win blacks over to their party.

But unquestionably the central actor in the political drama to be played out over the next five months is Wilder himself.

When he entered Virginia politics in 1969 he was considered a liberal firebrand. And even after 16 years in the state Senate his chances to become lieutenant governor were considered slim by most politicians in the state when he announced for that office in 1985.

But in that campaign, Wilder demonstrated a more restrained style and a more conservative approach to issues. That helped him get 44% of the white votes in the November election. And he has sought to maintain that centrist course during his four years as lieutenant governor, opposing tax increases and backing tough curbs on crime, both issues he underlined in his acceptance speech Saturday.

“As governor I will seek to provide permanent and meaningful tax relief for the citizens of the commonwealth,” he told the 3,000 delegates. “As governor I will personally lead the fight against illicit drugs and drug-related crime in Virginia. In a Wilder Administration, I will be Virginia’s anti-drug czar.”

‘Neutralizes’ Fears

“Wilder has shrewdly positioned himself on the issues,” says Tom Cavanagh, director of Johns Hopkins’ Center for the Study of American Government and a specialist in black politics. By contrast with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, with his highly provocative style, “Wilder neutralizes a lot of fears that whites have about black politicians,” Cavanagh said.

He has impressed whites not only with his positions on issues but with his self-discipline and seriousness of purpose.

“This man has got what I call ‘Big C’--and that stands for character,” said James Willis, a retired high school principal and a lifelong Democrat from northern Virginia.

Wilder also is considered different from Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, the last black to try for a governorship, politicians who have watched both men in action say. Unlike the phlegmatic Bradley, who was defeated by Gov. George Deukmejian in 1982 and 1986, Wilder is a rousing orator, with an engaging personality who relishes the cut and thrust of political maneuver.

Show United Front

So far in his bid for governor, Wilder has had things pretty much his way, largely because he was able to bluff or persuade possible rivals not to compete against him for the nomination. Thus the Democrats have been able to present a united front, while the Republicans are locked in a fractious contest.

But all that will start changing after Tuesday’s GOP primary when that party’s nominee begins to open fire on Wilder. Wilder’s managers are determined to present him, as one of them put it, “Not as a black politician but as an experienced and savvy state legislator.”

Republicans are just as determined to make an issue out of his liberal past, including such items as his one-time opposition to capital punishment, a position he has since reversed. In 1985, when Wilder’s GOP opponent accused him of being a liberal, Wilder countercharged his foe with racism and the Republican backed off.

“Wilder is not going to get a free ride this time,” vows Virginia Republican National Committeeman Morton Blackwell. “His vulnerability is his record.”

The Republican contenders are former U.S. Sen. Paul S. Trible Jr., the early favorite, former state Atty. Gen. J. Marshall Coleman and northern Virginia Congressman Stan Parris.

At their Richmond meeting Saturday, Virginia Democrats also chose auto dealer Don Beyer as their candidate for lieutenant governor and named Atty. Gen. Mary Sue Terry to run for a second term.