NATION IN BRIEF : VIRGINIA : Recount Confirms Wilder as Governor

A three-judge panel in Richmond, Va., certified the election to governor of Democrat L. Douglas Wilder in a recount that gave him a 6,741-vote margin over Republican J. Marshall Coleman. The recount confirmed Wilder as the first black elected governor in history, with 896,936 votes to 890,195 for Coleman, who picked up 113 votes in the recount. The first count of the Nov. 7 election gave Wilder victory by 6,854 votes, or four-tenths of 1% of the 1.78 million votes cast. Under state law, that margin was close enough for Coleman to get a recount at state expense. William H. Hurd, Coleman’s attorney, said the Republican would not challenge the judges’ decision in the General Assembly.