"A man wearing a yellow chicken costume walked around the fringes of a Republican rally at the University of Virginia's Rotunda on Saturday with a sign urging a congressman to "send back the chicken money."

The congressman, 5th District Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., R-Rocky Mount, ignored the chicken man and his plea.

The demonstrator, a Democrat, "wanted to protest jobs flying off to Mexico" and Goode's acceptance of $5,000 from executives of a Texas poultry processing firm that praises NAFTA and has a big Mexican chicken plant, said Dave Sagarin, campaign spokesman for Democratic challenger Meredith Richards.

Republican officials in the crowd of about three dozen Goode supporters were not crazy about the chicken. "The chicken will be roasted on Tuesday," said Tucker Watkins, chairman of the 5th District Republican Committee. The GOP stalwart said Goode will trounce Richards in the election.

The economy has dominated discussion of issues in the Goode-Richards race. However, the Democrat's frequent criticism of Goode for railing against free trade while accepting cash from firms that create more jobs outside U.S. borders may have done little to close the lead Goode appears to enjoy in the contest.

With U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Fairfax County, at his side urging greater voter turnout for a big GOP win, Goode said he has investigated complaints about the contributions, finds them groundless and is not going to give the "chicken money" back.

"Based on what I have seen, they are the ones who should be apologizing," Goode said. Pilgrim's Pride, the large poultry firm, has "a plant in Mexico to process Mexican chickens for Mexicans and American plants in America for American chickens for Americans."

Allen made no mention of chickens or free trade while praising Goode and reminding Republicans that "representative democracy does not run on automatic pilot."

Speaking 20 years to the day after he won his first election to the House of Delegates "by a whopping 25 votes," Allen said that Goode carries clout in Congress. He said Goode, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, "can have tremendous, influential impact," which he uses for UVa and local governments.

Richards held a similarly sized rally Friday afternoon at the Ivy Creek Natural Area, where she picked up the endorsement of the national Sierra Club and was surrounded by three dozen Charlottesville and Albemarle County environmentalists.

"I will bring federal resources to bear to assist regions with water supply planning and to help localities provide for water supplies for the future," Richards told that crowd. "We want to protect rivers and streams, our reservoir and our groundwater. The drought has made us realize how precious water is and how much we take it for granted." " (Bob Gibson, The Daily Progress, November 3, 2002)