Allen and Webb Head For a Frenzied Finish

Candidates Make Last Dash to Woo Voters

Campaign manager Dick Wadhams, center, hurries Sen. George Allen (R) out of the Winchester airport after volunteers spotted political activist Michael Stark. (By Michael Robinson Chavez -- The Washington Post)

RICHMOND, Nov. 4 -- One of Virginia's closest U.S. Senate races in years headed Saturday toward an unpredictable finish as Republican Sen. George Allen and Democratic challenger James Webb battled across the state to turn out as many voters as possible.

With two days of campaigning left before Tuesday's elections, polls showed a race too close to predict. Allen and Webb have been trading slim leads in recent polls, but most are within the margin of error, indicating a virtual tie. The late momentum generally has favored Webb, analysts said.

Webb latched himself to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and former governor Mark R. Warner on Saturday for a traditional final weekend Democratic swing through the rural communities of southwest Virginia. Allen invited South Dakota Sen. John Thune (R) to help rally voters in Springfield, Harrisonburg, Abingdon and Danville.

"We're in the two-minute drill, team," Allen, a former college quarterback, told a crowd of 75 gathered at the Winchester airport, a football in his hand. "It's really important that you get out and vote. The world is controlled by people who show up."

Meanwhile, supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage campaigned Saturday for its approval while opponents mounted a fierce effort to become the first state in the nation to turn back such a measure. And the candidates for Congress in a handful of competitive districts tried to gain a last-minute edge.

Allen and Webb continued Saturday with their barrage of television commercials. Allen aides announced that the senator planned to air a two-minute, statewide "infomercial" Monday night, the third such unusually lengthy ad of the fall campaign. Webb continued to outspend Allen on TV, thanks to millions of dollars from the national Democratic Party, which views Virginia as key to its hopes of taking back the Senate.

Before about 300 people in Springfield, Allen touted Friday's release of low national unemployment figures and warned that Webb would raise taxes. Later, he told a crowd outside of Harrisonburg, "We stand for the family. And, I might add, my opponent stands with Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Kerry on the wrong side of that battle."

Webb told a crowd of about 150 in Pulaski, "Folks, this is about leadership as much as it's about one issue or another." At a stop last night in Honaker, in rural Russell County, Webb angrily responded to Allen ads running in the area that accuse him of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants, gun control and same-sex marriage. "Running against George Allen is like living in a sewer," he said. "I have to wake up every morning holding my nose." Webb later pulled out his permit to carry a concealed weapon and said he was offended that Allen and National Rifle Association are questioning his commitment to the right to bear arms.

The nasty, personal Allen-Webb race has been one of a handful of Senate races dominating national headlines this fall. Six months ago, that is not how Virginia's race was expected to turn out.

Webb, a former Navy secretary, jumped into the Democratic primary in February, offering himself as a Ronald Reagan Republican-turned-Democrat whose service in Vietnam and early opposition to the Iraq war would be an appealing combination.

He defeated Fairfax lobbyist Harris Miller, who invested $1 million of his own money. But the contest left Webb broke by July and with problems in his party, especially among some black voters angered by his position on affirmative action.

As he prepared to take on Allen at the beginning of the summer, Webb trailed by 16 points in polls and was a virtual unknown.