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Families there crave lower taxes, less crime and better schools.
Allen promised all three. But he did not take either Northern Virginia or Tidewater by the margins he enjoyed in 1994 against Republican Oliver L. North, and not by the margins needed to offset Allen's strong victories in the rest of the state. Allen's campaign for U.S. Senate ran up big numbers in the Shenandoah Valley, Southside, central Virginia and southwestern Virginia, giving him a comfortable margin statewide. Allen, with his cowboy boots and aw-shucks style, drew the core of his support from the rural heartland of Virginia, where he remains popular from a governorship in which he abolished parole, redesigned welfare and defended gun rights. Particularly devastating to Robb was Allen's ability to convince voters of his support for public education, traditionally a Democratic issue and one that was at the heart of Robb's political successes throughout his career.