Allen and Webb Scramble To Break Voter Traditions

African Americans make up about 20 percent of Virginia's voters and are key to statewide Democrats' successes. But Webb's stance on affirmative action, which he once called "state-sponsored racism," could alienate some of them Tuesday.

Allen turned off many blacks early in his political career with his affinity for the Confederate flag and opposition to a state holiday commemorating the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Although blacks here still represent a crucial base of support for Webb, Allen ran up overwhelming margins among the military in his race for governor in 1993 and captured 50 percent of the region's vote when he won his first Senate term in 2000. He lunched Friday in Newport News with executives from the modeling and simulation companies.

Other Republicans, such as Sen. John W. Warner, also have shown strength there. But former Gov. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, carried the region in 2001, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) beat former attorney general Jerry W. Kilgore (R) in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Virginia Beach and parts of Norfolk and Hampton.

Webb, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former Republican who has become a face of the antiwar movement, said Thursday he is confident he has built a coalition of black voters and active-duty and retired military who oppose the Iraq war.

"With folks on active duty, you have the potential, with the mismanagement of this war, to see a huge shift" to Democratic support, Webb said outside the Norfolk church. "They've become much more vocal."

A Webb supporter from Virginia Beach who attended the lunch acknowledged the difficulty for a Democrat to crack the strong Republican tilt of military families. "But I think there are a lot of Republicans down here, veterans in particular, who feel they've been misled" by the Bush administration on the war, said Susan Mariner, whose husband is a veteran of the first Iraq war.

Allen, likewise, is counting on votes from a constituency that has not historically gravitated to Republicans. Polls show strong support from blacks on the same-sex marriage question, which could drive turnout, and, the Allen campaign hopes, support.