"Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Webb campaigned yesterday in Northern Virginia with the state's current governor at his side, and hours later he picked up a key endorsement from a former governor in Richmond.

Webb, joined by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), appealed to retirees and students at stops in Fairfax and Prince William counties before heading to Richmond to appear with former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, now the mayor of Richmond and a popular figure among African American voters.

Webb's opponent, incumbent Sen. George Allen (R), stumped through southwestern Virginia yesterday with Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), the majority whip. The Allen campaign also released a radio commercial featuring Allen's most prominent black supporter, state Sen. Benjamin J. Lambert III (D-Richmond).

Allen and Webb had courted Wilder for his support. Wilder, a Democrat, is independent-minded and likes to build suspense for his endorsements by waiting until late in a campaign to announce his choices. His support isn't always guaranteed; in 1997, he declined to endorse Democrat Donald S. Beyer Jr. for governor.

Two years ago, he stood with Allen to condemn then-Gov. Mark R. Warner's proposed tax increases and urged the Democratic governor to put the idea to a vote of the people. Later that year, Wilder was the keynote speaker at a retreat for the state GOP.

But yesterday, he said voters should choose Webb to send the message that they are opposed to the war in Iraq and Republican economic policies. He said he would do all he could, including campaign events and TV ads, to support Webb.

"I think the time is now to take the action necessary to help turn around the ill-fated direction the country has taken," said Wilder, who was governor from 1990 to 1994. "For that reason, I will support an individual who served in combat for his nation . . . and will fight to represent the needs of the common man . . . to put this country back on course."

Allen and Webb have been vying for votes from African Americans in a campaign marred by accusations of racism. Allen has been dogged by questions about his racial sensitivity, and Webb has been put on the defensive over a magazine article he wrote in 1979 opposing women in combat, which some have said was demeaning to women.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is spending millions to bolster Webb, has been running radio ads on black stations highlighting Allen's fondness as a young man for Confederate heritage and allegations that he used racial slurs in college. The Allen campaign and the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee responded yesterday with Lambert's ad, which will air on several African American radio stations.

Lambert urges listeners to discount charges about Allen's past and focus on his support for historically black colleges, black farmers and the Voting Rights Act.

"I have fought racism all my life, and I've learned to judge people by what they do now, not what they have done 30 years ago," Lambert said.

McConnell, in an interview, said that Virginians would see a large tax increase if Webb is elected, referring to past statements by Webb that he would let some of President Bush's tax cuts expire. "You cannot let the tax cuts expire without having a rather large increase," McConnell said.

But Wilder said yesterday that Bush's economic policies have benefited the rich while doing little for the poor and middle class.

"We need someone who will look out for individuals in all walks of life," Wilder said.

Wilder said he considers Allen a "close friend" but cannot support him because he is a reliable vote for GOP leaders in Congress. Wilder called Allen yesterday morning.

"I said to Senator Allen, I do not want to see two more years of absolute control by Republicans owning both houses [of Congress], because it will send the wrong message to the president that he is doing right, and what he is doing, in my judgment, is wrong," Wilder said.

Dick Wadhams, Allen's campaign manager, said that the senator understood.

"I don't think it is a big surprise that the Democratic mayor of Richmond would endorse the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate," Wadhams said. "But Senator Allen still respects Mayor Wilder and looks forward to working with him on issues as he had in the past."

Kaine and Warner have also cleared their schedules for the race's closing days to stump for Webb.

"This is a person who probably never thought about running for political office," Kaine told about 100 senior citizens gathered yesterday at the Fairfax, a community for retired military officers near Fort Belvoir. "But the times compelled him to step forward....He's never done anything in his life that he hasn't done wholeheartedly, independently and fearlessly."

The retirees at the Fairfax were a mix of Democrats and Republicans, but they spoke Webb's language. The former Marine who led a platoon in Vietnam and was Navy secretary under President Ronald Reagan was introduced as "Mr. Secretary." When Webb said he had lived in "33 different houses" by the time he graduated from high school, many nodded.

Webb called his challenge to Allen a referendum on the Bush administration that "people are watching all over the country."

Webb spoke next at an American history class at Northern Virginia Community College in Woodbridge, where several students said their husbands were about to deply to Iraq. He told them that the diplomatic solution he has called for would bring them home sooner.

Standing at the lecturn with the sleeves of his blue shirt rolled up, Webb seemed more comfortable than he has on larger stages and shared more of his personal story than usual.

"I'm a writer who's spent most of my professional life living off the intellectual processes of my brain," he said, after telling the students that his role model is Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the late Democratic senator from New York. "He continued government service with an academic career."" (Tim Craig and Lisa Rein, The Washington Post, October 26, 2006)

Staff writer Michael D. Shear contributed to this report.

Editor's Note: An index to coverage of George Allen on the Loper website may be found at http://loper.org/~george/archives/2006/Aug/925.html