Wilder Tells Gore He Won’t Quit Senate Race

Former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has rejected an appeal from Vice President Al Gore to drop out of the state’s U.S. Senate race, his spokesman said Friday.

Glenn Davidson said Wilder met with Gore on Thursday at the White House but declined to accept a proposal to step aside and unite the Democratic vote behind incumbent Sen. Charles S. Robb in an effort to defeat Republican challenger Oliver L. North.

The Virginia race is shaping up as one of the most controversial of the November midterm elections. The seat is also being contested by former Republican state Atty. Gen. J. Marshall Coleman.

Gore issued a statement after his meeting with Wilder, saying: “My purpose in inviting my friend Doug Wilder to come for a visit was to tell him in person that I hope he will end up supporting the candidacy of Sen. Robb for reelection.”

But Wilder said: “I told the vice president I was committed to running. That is final, complete.”

Wilder, the grandchild of slaves, was the first black to be elected a state governor. He has a longrunning and bitter personal rivalry with Robb.