October 2002

TeamGOP Home Daily News via Email Get TeamGOP.com news every day. Enter your email address in the field below. News Archive July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 March 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 Questions? Feel free to email us with your questions, comments, and concerns.

Governor Jeb Bush Campaigns in Spanish 10/31/2002 2:31 PM Calling on "Reverendo Dios" throughout his speech, Gov. Jeb Bush promised a throng of supporters that he would look out for their children. He bounced easily from English to Spanish -- referring to God in one language and pitching formulas for change in the other. This seamless shifting between languages serves the Republican governor well in a state where Hispanics make up nearly 17 percent of the population and are the largest minority group. It also puts him at the front of a growing trend that has politicians across the country spending millions on bilingual campaigns and speaking Spanish on the stump. Read the article Seniority Questions Will Wait 10/31/2002 1:24 PM When Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) bolted from the Republican Party to caucus with Democrats in 2001, he was richly rewarded with a chairmanship and retained his seniority on several other committees including the much sought-after Finance panel. Jeffords' desertion forced the GOP into the minority, and Democratic leaders faced little opposition from rank-and-file Members for compensating the Vermont Independent for tilting the balance of power in their favor. But it is unlikely Democratic leaders will be as generous with chairmanships in the 108th Congress should former Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and former Vice President Walter Mondale win election once again to the Senate and help Democrats retain the majority. Read the article In Georgia, Chambliss Keeps Heat on Cleland 10/31/2002 1:18 PM Though his dogged campaign has not surged him past Georgia Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, Republican challenger Saxby Chambliss is going all out in the final days before Nov. 5 to try to turn the race into a tossup. While most analysts continue to give Cleland an edge in the race, polls indicate that four-term House incumbent Chambliss has narrowed the gap in the past two weeks. Chambliss is employing a risky campaign strategy, but one that seems to be working to some extent. Read the article Bush Stumps in South Dakota for Midterms 10/31/2002 1:16 PM Switching into high gear in search of a historic midterm electoral triumph, President Bush said Thursday that picking Republican candidates "is in the best interests" of voters. Bush's first stop in a virtually nonstop campaign drive counting down to Tuesday's voting was South Dakota, this election's political ground zero. Sen. Tim Johnson is battling Rep. John Thune there in a bitter, expensive Senate race that looks like a proxy war between the president and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. Bush also was campaigning for Gov. Bill Janklow, in a tight contest against Democrat Stephanie Herseth for a House seat, and Mike Rounds, the GOP candidate for governor. Read the article Ex-Vice President's Who Ran for Office Later 10/31/2002 1:13 PM Walter Mondale isn't the first former vice president to make a later try for lesser office. The lineup from history... Read the article North Carolina Senate Race Tighter, Poll Says 10/30/2002 9:28 PM Republican Elizabeth Dole leads Democrat Erskine Bowles by 6 percentage points but the Senate race to replace Jesse Helms is tightening, according a poll released Wednesday. The statewide survey by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research indicated Dole leads 48 percent to 42 percent, with a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Eight percent were undecided. Two weeks ago, Dole led by 10 percentage points, 50 percent to 40 percent, in another survey of likely voters. In a September poll, Dole led Bowles, former chief of staff to President Clinton, by 14 points. Read the article Minnesota GOP Candidate Resumes Campaign 10/30/2002 9:22 PM Republican Senate nominee Norm Coleman resumed his campaign Wednesday, crisscrossing the state in a small plane and targeting someone new: former vice president Walter Mondale. Coleman took a 6:15 a.m. flight to this city on the Canadian border and made his way through snow showers to rally supporters at Barney's Family Restaurant. Minnesotans, he said, need a senator with "energy and enthusiasm and vigor -- and love," said Coleman, dressed casually with a flannel shirt and no tie. Read the article Sununu Faces Base Troubles in New Hampshire Senate Battle With Shaheen 10/30/2002 9:19 PM New Hampshire Republican Rep. John E. Sununu ran an unusually big career risk when he took on incumbent GOP Sen. Robert C. Smith in the Sept. 10 primary. Sununu prevailed in that contest, earning a spot in a tossup general election with the Democrats' top-tier nominee, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen. But the hard feelings of some Smith loyalists appear to be a hindrance to Sununu in the home stretch toward the Nov. 5 vote. Read the article Poll: New York Governor Leads Race by 20 Points 10/30/2002 12:20 PM Gov. George Pataki has a 20-point lead over Democratic challenger H. Carl McCall, with a third-party billionaire candidate running 30 points behind the two-term Republican, a statewide poll showed Wednesday. The poll, from Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion, had Pataki leading McCall 47 percent to 27 percent among likely voters, with B. Thomas Golisano at 17 percent. A Marist poll released Oct. 1 had Pataki leading McCall 48 percent to 32 percent among likely voters, with Golisano at 9 percent. Regardless of whom they plan to support in next Tuesday's election, 83 percent of voters told pollsters they think Pataki will be re-elected. The governor's job approval rating was 57 percent, compared with 61 percent in the earlier survey. Read the article Ventura Upset Over Wellstone Service 10/30/2002 12:19 PM Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, upset by what he felt was a partisan tone of a memorial service to honor the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, said he will try to appoint an independent instead of a Democrat to fill Wellstone's seat until a new candidate is certified. Ventura had said he favored a replacement from Wellstone's party, but that was before he walked out of Tuesday night's memorial service. Ventura referred to a speech by one of Wellstone's closest friends, Rick Kahn, in which Kahn said to the crowd, "I'm begging you to help us win this Senate election for Paul Wellstone." Read the article Minnesota Democrats OK Mondale for Senate Run 10/30/2002 12:18 PM Minnesota's Democrats loudly approved former Vice President Walter Mondale Wednesday night as a last-minute fill-in for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone. More than 800 party representatives, in a special meeting, approved Mondale's candidacy with a boisterous "YEA!" There were no dissenters. Mondale was mobbed as he made his way to the podium to speak. Read the article McBride Campaign Stalled in Florida, Polls Show 10/29/2002 12:32 PM Tampa lawyer Bill McBride's campaign to unseat Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has caught the imagination of Democrats across the country hungry to avenge the 2000 presidential recount fandango. But two polls taken after the candidates held their third and final debate last week suggest that McBride has not gained any ground on Bush since his primary win last month over former attorney general Janet Reno. A poll conducted jointly by a Republican and a Democratic firm on behalf of the St. Petersburg Times and the Miami Herald showed McBride trailing Bush statewide, 51 percent to 43 percent. Read the article Straddling the Economic Divide 10/29/2002 12:29 PM Hounds are baying in the twilight. A chestnut mare gleams in a paddock. In a verdant valley in northern Baltimore County, a gubernatorial contender is being feted at Maryland's oldest fox hunting club, the Green Spring Valley Hounds. The sign at the end of the unpaved lane leading to this rarefied enclave is so discreet it is marked with initials -- "GSV" -- because if you have to ask how to get here, you don't belong. The guest of honor is not the candidate with the richest bloodline, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. It's her Republican opponent, Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., son of an Arbutus car salesman who has won 13 consecutive elections telling voters about his simple working-class roots. Read the article Wellstone Family asks Cheney to Stay Away from Service 10/29/2002 12:27 PM The family of Sen. Paul Wellstone asked Vice President Dick Cheney to stay away, so Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and the White House's chief congressional liaison were leading an administration delegation to Tuesday night's memorial service. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Cheney offered to attend the service for Wellstone, his wife, his daughter and three campaign aides -- all killed in a plane crash Friday. "The family was appreciative of the offer by the vice president to attend." But he added that it would be inappropriate to characterize the private conversations that ultimately led to the decision that Cheney would not go. Read the article Senator Carnahan Downplays her Appointment 10/28/2002 11:10 PM Rallying teamsters in Springfield, Mo., on Monday, incumbent Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan made mention of last week's tragic plane crash that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone. Wellstone's death has brought it all back in Missouri. Carnahan is in a very close battle with Republican challenger and former four-term Rep. Jim Talent. Polls have steadily shown the race in a statistical dead heat or Talent with a slight lead. Since Wellstone's death, she has studiously avoided trying to stir up any renewed sympathy vote now. "Any attempt on her part to play up how she got into the U.S. Senate in the first place would really backfire at this point," said independent pollster John Zogby. But Talent has described the Minnesota crash as an "elephant in the middle of the room," an inescapable reminder for Missouri voters that Carnahan was not elected while he spent eight years in Congress. Read the article Ride's Gotten Bumpier on Townsend Bus 10/28/2002 11:09 PM Five months ago, Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend launched her campaign for governor with a double-digit lead in the polls and a busload of chipper volunteers singing cheerful songs. Yesterday, the bus was back. But with the race a toss-up just nine days before the Nov. 5 election, the volunteers were a little tense and it was a little bit tougher to get everyone to sing along. Read the article Many "Ifs" in November Race 10/28/2002 11:01 PM While no one is expecting a repeat of the 36-day standoff witnessed in the 2000 presidential election, many races may not be settled on Nov. 6, the day after voters go to the polls to select the entire House of Representatives as well as senators and governors in a third of the states... Read the article Papers Implicate California Governor Davis 10/28/2002 10:57 PM A federal judge ordered the release Monday of documents from a decade-old fraud and racketeering case in which a convicted felon implicated Gov. Gray Davis in a bribery scheme. The release comes a week before voters go to the polls to choose between Davis and Republican Bill Simon, who has made attacks on the governor's fund-raising practices a centerpiece of his campaign. Former Coastal Commissioner Mark Nathanson named Davis, then state controller, in two letters he submitted to prosecutors in 1993 as part of an unsuccessful attempt to cut a more favorable deal after pleading guilty to racketeering, tax fraud and soliciting bribes. Read the article Mondale to Replace Wellstone as Senate Candidate 10/28/2002 1:13 PM Former Vice President Walter Mondale will agree to replace the late Sen. Paul Wellstone on the Minnesota Democratic ticket in a race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate, Fox News has learned. Wellstone's eldest son, David, personally made the request at a meeting Saturday at Mondale's law office, said Mike Erlandson, chairman of the state's Democratic-Farmer Labor Party. Erlandson, who knew of but was not present at the Saturday meeting with Mondale, planned to call a meeting Wednesday of the party's state central committee to nominate a ballot replacement for Wellstone. He said the family blessing makes Mondale the clear favorite. Read the article Zell A Factor in Georgia Senate Race 10/28/2002 10:17 AM Sen. Max Cleland is the one up for re-election, but the discussion kept going back to his fellow senator from Georgia. At a televised debate Sunday, GOP Rep. Saxby Chambliss called his Democratic rival to task on Cleland's policy clashes with Sen. Zell Miller, the popular former governor. Chambliss had been running television ads contrasting Georgia's two Democratic senators, highlighting Miller's unconditional support for President Bush's Homeland Security Department proposal and Cleland's insistence that a worker rights provision be included. Read the article New York Times Endorses Pataki 10/28/2002 10:15 AM The editorial board of the New York Times has endorsed Gov. George Pataki for a third term, calling him the most qualified candidate to lead the state during its ongoing financial troubles. The endorsement, published Sunday in the newspaper's Week in Review section, offered muted praise for Pataki's record. The editorial called the Republican governor a "generally sensible steward of the public's money'' and said he helped the environment, small businesses and the state's elderly population during his two terms in office. Read the article New York Governor's Race Tops $118 Million 10/25/2002 10:00 PM Spending in the New York governor's race has eclipsed $118 million, making it the most expensive statewide race ever and putting it on pace to challenge the national record for a governor's race. The figure reflects Republican incumbent George Pataki's report Friday that he had spent $11.36 million in the past three weeks. With the latest figures to the state Board of Elections, the race has become, by far, the most expensive statewide contest in New York history. Read the article Officials Consider Wellstone Successor 10/25/2002 9:54 PM Only minutes after hearing that Sen. Paul Wellstone had been killed in a plane crash, elections experts were cracking open Minnesota's election law books to see how his death will affect who holds the seat. According to Minnesota elections law, when a senator dies between four and 16 days from an election, the state Democratic Party can nominate a replacement candidate, basically putting a sticker over Wellstone's name on the ballot. Election Day is Nov. 5, and some think that Republican candidate Norm Coleman's chances of election are improved with the loss of Wellstone, since his approval ratings are high enough to surmount the party split. Read the article Senator Paul Wellstone Killed in Plane Crash 10/25/2002 2:15 PM A plane chartered by Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., crashed Friday and all eight aboard died, a Transportation Department official said. On board were his wife, Shiela Ison, his daughter Marcia, three campaign workers and two pilots. Sen. Wellstone was running for re-election in a race against former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman. The race was watched across the nation as one of the contests that could determine the majority party in the Senate. Read the article Terror Fight Helps Bush Approval Ratings 10/24/2002 10:49 PM Heading into midterm elections that often bode poorly for the president's political party, President George W. Bush has managed to stave off skeptics and has stayed above 60 percent in approval ratings for over a year. Many say it's because of demonstrated leadership in the face of a new national threat. "The approval ratings are far more an artifact of the post-Sept. 11 environment, his emergence as a leader," said Norm Ornstein, political analyst for the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. "He's had enough successes that, combined with the Sept. 11 period, he's seen as a winner and that helps him enormously," Ornstein added. Read the article Bush Enlists Government in GOP Campaign 10/24/2002 10:43 PM President Bush has harnessed the broad resources of the federal government to promote Republicans in next month's elections. From housing grants in South Dakota and research contracts in Florida to Air Force One rides and photos in the White House driveway, Bush has made Republican success on Nov. 5 a government-wide project. Republicans see defeating Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.) as one of their best chances for retaking control of the Senate, and the White House has lavished aid on her challenger, former representative James M. Talent, including visits by Bush, his secretaries of commerce, education, housing and urban development, interior, and labor, and Small Business Administration chief Hector V. Barreto (twice). Read the article Adopting Union Tactics, Firms Dive More Deeply Into Politics 10/24/2002 10:40 PM Seeking to fill a void in the low-interest congressional campaigns, pro-Republican businesses are muscling into the Nov. 5 elections in novel ways, stuffing voter guides into pay envelopes, e-mailing workers with candidate report cards, and mounting get-out-the-vote drives that take a page from organized labor. To be sure, corporations are also seeking to influence the elections the old-fashioned way, with cold cash. With the traditional, last-minute surge in giving still to come, corporate political action committees already have raised more money than they did in 2000, a presidential election year. Read the article Cheney Hauls in Millions for GOP 10/24/2002 10:38 PM Less than two weeks before the election, Vice President Dick Cheney is scrambling for 11th-hour campaign contributions that could help Republicans protect their fragile hold on the House. Cheney has been the White House road warrior this year, hauling in more than $22 million for Republicans in 74 campaign appearances. He outpaced President Bush, who logged 66 events before closing out his fund raising last week and shifting to a pure get-out-the-vote mode. The vice president hits the trail again Thursday, collecting campaign cash in Georgia and Florida, and he may continue beyond that, his office says. Read the article In GOP Texas, Democrat has the Senate Buzz 10/24/2002 10:36 PM In President Bush's home state of Texas, where Republicans have a stranglehold on statewide office, a barrier-shattering Democrat has captured most of the buzz in this year's U.S. Senate race. Now Ron Kirk, a pro-business former mayor of Dallas and the first African-American to win a Senate nomination in Texas, will have to come from behind to pull out a win over Republican state Attorney General John Cornyn. Read the article Polls show Pataki has Double-digit Lead in Governor's Race 10/24/2002 10:33 PM The chairman of the Democratic National Committee said the party would not provide gubernatorial candidate H. Carl McCall with large sums of money unless he closes the double-digit gap in his campaign, a newspaper reported Thursday. "I've got to put the resources where we can win elections," Terry McAuliffe told The New York Times on Wednesday. "If he (McCall) closes the gap and shows he can win, I'm going to get him whatever he needs." McAuliffe said McCall would have to come within six to seven points behind Republican Gov. George Pataki in the polls before the Democratic party would channel any more money to him. A Quinnipiac poll released last week showed McCall trailing Pataki, by 47 percent to 31 percent. Read the article Mum's the Word for South Dakota Governor's Race 10/24/2002 10:31 PM To win the Republican nomination for governor, Mike Rounds kept his mouth shut and watched his two primary opponents spend a record $4 million clobbering each other. Rounds hasn't had to do much in the general election campaign, either. With less than two weeks to go before Election Day, he holds a comfortable lead over Democrat Jim Abbott, who has yet to run an attack ad. Welcome to the quietest race in South Dakota politics. Read the article Bush Rallies Southern Voters 10/24/2002 10:27 PM President Bush swept through three Southern states Thursday for Republican candidates who hope to capitalize on his tough-on-terrorism popularity while linking their Democratic rivals to the Clinton administration -- largely unpopular in this region. Though Bush did not mention the former president as he rallied Republican voters in the Carolinas and Alabama, his 12-hour campaign blitz was designed to reinforce the strategy of southern GOP candidates: Portray their Democratic opponents as tax-raising liberals who are out of step with the region's conservative voters. "We're coming down the stretch. Candidates can't win without you," the president told a partisan crowd of several thousand voters while campaigning for Senate candidate Elizabeth Dole. Read the article Jeb Bush Maintains Lead Over McBride 10/22/2002 9:55 PM Gov. Jeb Bush was narrowly leading Democratic challenger Bill McBride on the eve of the candidates' last debate in the governor's race before the Nov. 5 election, a poll showed. A poll conducted Oct. 17-20 by the Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. showed Bush ahead of McBride by 49 percent to 44 percent, with 6 percent of the 628 registered voters undecided. The poll, released Monday, had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Read the article Democratic 'Dream' Dying in Texas? 10/22/2002 2:21 PM Two weeks out from Election Day, the GOP is still on track to retain the governorship in three of the country's four most populous states, recent polls show, though the coveted prize of Florida remains extremely close as the two Sunshine State candidates prepare for their final debate tonight. The perils of relying solely on poll numbers as the primary predictor of a race should again be emphasized, but for pure horse-race updates for those not working the campaigns, a new survey is as good as it gets. Read the article Cleland Lead Shrinks in Georgia Senate Race 10/22/2002 2:18 PM Georgia's incumbent Democratic Sen. Max Cleland lost an arm and both legs during the Vietnam War, but in this year's wartime election battle for the U.S. Senate, Cleland is fighting for his political survival. His commitment to national security has come under attack from Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss, who is challenging him for his seat. Recent polls give Cleland a six-point lead, but that has been steadily shrinking as Chambliss surges late in the campaign. The Chambliss attack is one of the toughest in the country, blasting Cleland for opposing President Bush's plan for a Department of Homeland Security, then claiming he should not be questioned because he's a veteran. Read the article Elvis Leaves Building for Ballot 10/22/2002 2:15 PM The first lady of Arkansas relishes politics so much that she's running for secretary of state on her husband's ticket. Family ties are more frayed in Connecticut, where the mother and siblings of state Rep. Dennis Cleary have taken out a newspaper ad urging his defeat. While weighty issues dominate the congressional campaign scene, not all is somber or staid on the state and local election front as Nov. 5 approaches. A professional Elvis impersonator, Bruce Borders, is a Republican candidate for state representative in Indiana. In Berkeley, Calif., voters will decide on a ballot initiative requiring coffee houses to sell environmentally and politically correct brews. Oregon's last dry town, Monmouth, will decide whether to go wet. Among the distinctive candidates are several asking for voters' trust despite past brushes with the law. Read the article Liddy Dole Would like a Role in Hollywood 10/21/2002 11:35 AM It's clear that Elizabeth Dole's chief goal is to win her North Carolina Senate race. But her "secret desire," she told Glamour magazine, is to be a guest-star on NBC's "Law and Order," where fellow Republican, soon-to-retire Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, will play the district attorney. While Thompson had lots of Hollywood roles to his credit, including such hits as "The Hunt for Red October," Dole has followed a different career path, earning a degree from Harvard Law School in 1965 and marrying Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) a decade later. She has also served in various government or quasi-government jobs, including Secretary of Labor and president of the Red Cross, on a virtually continuous basis since 1969. Read the article Whither, Lincoln Chafee? 10/21/2002 11:02 AM Inside the Senate Republican establishment, there is a difference of opinion about Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Most are positive he will cross the aisle to the Democratic caucus if the GOP gains one seat November 5 to recapture Senate control. A minority feels he also will make the switch if the Republicans pick up two seats. But both opinions may be wrong. "I call it senseless," Chafee told me, in characterizing predictions of his certain defection. It was the only irritation shown by the soft-spoken 49-year-old freshman senator during a conversation last week, after he cast the only Senate Republican vote against the Iraq war resolution. While he does not guarantee Republican fealty to the end of time, he expressed no anxiety about remaining with his ancestral party. "I'm very comfortable here," he said. Read the article Florida Race a Test for 2004 10/20/2002 10:40 AM In Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush suddenly finds his re-election at risk from a relatively unknown Democratic rival, sending big brother President George W. Bush to prop up his campaign this week. "I know his heart, I know his strength and conviction and I know his vision," the president said at a Thursday night fund-raiser that was to raise $1 million for brother and party. Bush's re-election is one of the most watched and expensive races in the country. "I hope that you will vote for me. I honestly need your vote. This is going to be a close election, but I believe I will prevail," Gov. Bush said. Read the article Poll: GOP Candidates Lead in Texas 10/20/2002 10:38 AM Republicans seeking the governor and U.S. senate posts hold double-digit leads over their Democratic opponents, according to a new poll by The Dallas Morning News. The Democrats' best hopes appears to rest on John Sharp, who is locked in a dead heat with Republican David Dewhurst in the lieutenant governor's race, according to the poll published in the newspaper's early Sunday editions. Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Perry is favored by 50 percent of likely voters over Democrat Tony Sanchez, who was backed by 35 percent. In the race to replace Sen. Phil Gramm, Republican John Cornyn leads Democrat Ron Kirk by 10 points -- 47 percent to 37 percent. Read the article Carnahan Numbers Dip in Missouri Race 10/18/2002 4:14 PM Sen. Jean Carnahan of Missouri is falling in the polls, despite a barrage of Democratic TV ads against her Republican challenger for backing personal Social Security investment accounts. Mrs. Carnahan's campaign has been running the ads throughout the state for the past three weeks, charging that her opponent, Jim Talent, wants to privatize the Social Security system. But the latest polls suggest that the ads have not been helping her; the former four-term congressman has surged into the lead by 6.5 percentage points. President Bush, who wants to let workers invest a small part of their Social Security payroll taxes in stocks and bonds, is scheduled to make his fourth trip to Missouri today to campaign for Mr. Talent in a race that could give the Republicans the one-seat net gain they need to regain control of the Senate. Read the article Man In the Middle: Chafee Keeps The Door Ajar 10/18/2002 4:10 PM Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) refused Wednesday to rule out switching parties if Republicans retake the majority and GOP leaders abandon moderate principles in favor of a staunchly conservative legislative agenda. But while not closing the door on the possibility, he insisted that it would take a momentous turn of events to spur him to cross the aisle. "It would take an enormous situation for me to leave the Republican Party, where the issues that I care so deeply about were so jeopardized," Chafee, the only Senate Republican to vote against giving President Bush authority to attack Iraq, said in an interview. "I just can't see that happening." Read the article Bush Campaigns for Senate Candidates 10/18/2002 3:58 PM President Bush, campaigning Friday to oust Democratic senators in Missouri and Minnesota, said winning control of the Senate for the Republicans would pave the way for progress on a long list of items he wants on the economy and national security. Criticizing Democrats for slowness in approving his judicial nominees and his proposal for a Homeland Security Department, Bush sought to demonstrate a need for voters to tip the Senate out of Democratic hands in the midterm elections, now less than three weeks off. "The Senate has got a lousy record when it comes to my judges," Bush told a roaring crowd at Southwest Missouri State University. "You need a United States senator like Jim Talent who will not play shameless politics with the judges I've presented." Read the article Bush Aids Brother in Governor's Race 10/17/2002 5:58 PM With his brother in an unexpectedly tight battle for re-election as Florida governor, President Bush is topping off the state GOP's campaign coffers with another $1 million and dashing through Georgia to aid the top of the ticket there. The Florida gubernatorial contest has been a grudge match from the start, with Democrats hungry to avenge Al Gore's loss there in 2000, a defeat that cost him the presidency. A poll this week showed Gov. Jeb Bush in a statistical tie with Democrat Bill McBride, who defeated former Attorney General Janet Reno in last month's primary. A Bush loss would deeply embarrass the president, and cloud his own prospects for re-election in 2004. The state carries a rich cache of 27 electoral votes in the next presidential election, up from 25 in 2000. Read the article GOP Committee Nears End of Campaign 10/17/2002 5:57 PM The Republican fund-raising committee leading the GOP's efforts to keep its House majority entered the final month of the campaign with $19.5 million on hand, roughly double the ready cash of its Democratic counterpart. With an assist from President Bush, the National Republican Congressional Committee has collected at least $130 million for the fall election. Bush raised more than $30 million at a spring dinner to benefit the NRCC and the Senate Republican committee. Read the article Carnahan Apologizes for Bin Laden Remark 10/17/2002 5:54 PM Missouri Sen. Jean Carnahan apologized Wednesday for commenting that the White House "can't get Osama bin Laden, so they're going to get me." Made Sunday at a Democratic luncheon in Clay County, Mo., Mrs. Carnahan's remarks were greeted with laughter and applause: "I'm the No. 1 target of the White House. They can't get Osama bin Laden, so they're going to get me." CNN aired the comments Tuesday during a story on her campaign. Republicans immediately accused Mrs. Carnahan of making light of the war on terrorism. Missouri Republican Party chairwoman Ann Wagner called the comment "despicable;" Republican National Committee chairman Mark Racicot called it "unusually odd and inappropriate," and Republican Senate challenger Jim Talent said: "I'm sure Mrs. Carnahan didn't mean to say what she said" and that "most Missourians would accept a quick apology." Read the article Poll: New York Governor Pataki Widens Lead 10/16/2002 3:04 PM Republican Gov. George Pataki's lead over Democratic challenger H. Carl McCall widened over the past three weeks, according to a poll released Wednesday. The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute found the two-term governor was leading the state comptroller 47 percent to 31 percent among likely voters. The Independence Party candidate, billionaire businessman B. Thomas Golisano, had 18 percent. Read the article Poll Positions: Talent Leading Carnahan in Missouri 10/14/2002 10:55 PM Campaign polls are often criticized as media-generated news, especially when a particular news organization conducts its own poll. Most polls should be viewed with a careful eye, as a wide range of variables -- such as sample size, polling method, and question wording, to name a few -- an easily skew the results. But for better or worse, polls at least offer a snapshot of the state of play and, with the election season quickly coming to a close, are popping up with much more frequency. So going into Election Day, Early Returns will present periodic updates of polls from across the country, with the understanding that the latest numbers are only as reliable as the source, or as predictable as the electorate. Read the article Lautenberg Admits New Jersey Voters Upset 10/14/2002 10:45 PM Democrat Frank Lautenberg acknowledged Monday that voters might not like how he ended up on the ballot in place of Sen. Robert Torricelli but urged them not to take out their displeasure at the polls. "There are two contenders out there -- pick the one you want, and forget about the process," Lautenberg said in a meeting with reporters and editors from The Associated Press. Lautenberg left the Senate in 2001 after 18 years. Now he is back, trying to salvage for Democrats what had been Torricelli's re-election bid. Read the article Florida Governor Race Tightens 10/14/2002 10:42 PM A new poll says Gov. Jeb Bush and Democratic challenger Bill McBride are in a statistical dead heat three weeks before Election Day. An MSNBC/Zogby Poll released over the weekend showed Bush has the support of 48 percent of voters while McBride has the support of 45 percent. Seven percent of the 500 likely voters who were surveyed between Oct. 8 and Oct. 10 said they were undecided. The survey had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points, which places the race in a statistical dead heat on the eve of a one-hour radio debate. Read the article Senators Stymied by Web Restrictions 10/14/2002 10:28 AM For Maine voters trying to decide whether to reelect Sen. Susan Collins (R), her official Senate Web site isn't likely to be much help. Under Senate rules, Collins and the 29 other senators running for reelection may not update their sites 60 days before the election. The rule, designed to prevent campaigning on government sites, is being criticized by some watchdog groups and congressional staff for interfering with lawmakers' legitimate communication with their constituents. The House doesn't have this restriction. In South Dakota, Rep. John Thune (R) can update his site as frequently as he likes, while his opponent, Sen. Tim Johnson (D), hasn't been able to change his site since Sept. 5. This year, races in Louisiana, Iowa and Georgia feature challenges to Senate incumbents from House members. Read the article Pataki's Change Has Done Him Good 10/14/2002 10:27 AM This is not a Republican governor's usual campaign circuit, the breakfast tête-à-tête with rapper LL Cool J, a barbecue with Puerto Rican Democrats and an afternoon rally with big, pectoraled union hard-hats who proclaim him a working-class hero. But it's another step in George E. Pataki's long, strange political trip. Seeking a third term as governor of New York, Pataki has transformed himself from an obscure, tax-cutting, pro-death penalty legislator into a pro-labor, pro-environment, big-spending Rockefeller Republican. He has forced a Fortune 500 corporation to dredge dangerous chemicals off the floor of the Hudson River, strengthened labor organizing laws and signed a prescription health plan for seniors. He has wooed one labor union after another with gilt-laden contract settlements. He has populated his campaign staff with former Democratic office-holders. Read the article A Record Race for the Ayes of Texas 10/13/2002 10:08 PM Democrat Tony Sanchez set out to make history when he announced his candidacy for office: to become the first Hispanic elected governor of Texas. But even before Election Day, the gubernatorial campaign here is one for the record books, as the costliest, longest and one of the most negative the state has seen. Sanchez has spent about $55 million -- virtually all from his own fortune -- in his campaign to defeat Gov. Rick Perry (R), the former lieutenant governor who took over the state when George W. Bush was elected president two years ago. Sanchez could end up spending more than any nonpresidential candidate in U.S. history, and with the money Perry has spent, the total for the race is already more than $70 million. At the rate the candidates are saturating local television stations with their ads, spending could approach $100 million before the election is over. Read the article Poll Shows Talent Ahead of Carnahan 10/13/2002 10:03 PM Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan trails former Republican Rep. Jim Talent in a new poll that reverses previous findings in Missouri's closely watched Senate race. The Zogby International poll of 800 likely voters, conducted Wednesday through Friday for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, shows Talent leading Carnahan, 47 percent to 41 percent. A Zogby poll last month showed 48 percent supported Carnahan and 40 percent in favor of Talent. Read the article Watts Leaves Door Open to Return 10/9/2002 10:49 PM As Rep. J.C. Watts Jr. brings his brief but high-profile tenure in Congress to a close by retiring this year, he is leaving the door open to running for the U.S. Senate in the future. The Oklahoma Republican, who as chairman of the House Republican Conference is the top-ranking black member of Congress and the only black Republican, said in a morning coffee with editors and reporters at The Washington Times that he could see the timing working out six years from now. That's the next time the seat of Sen. James M. Inhofe, a Republican who is running for re-election this year, would be up for election. Read the article Senate Democrats Snub Thurmond's Nominee 10/9/2002 10:46 PM Senate Democrats yesterday spurned a judicial nominee backed by 99-year-old Sen. Strom Thurmond -- his last request before retirement -- in what Republicans say is an unprecedented breach of protocol and violation of Judiciary Committee rules. The South Carolina Republican, who rarely speaks during committee meetings, admonished Democrats for promising him a vote during this congressional session, which is coming to a close. "I took you at your word," Mr. Thurmond said. "In 40 years, I have never been treated in such a manner. I am hurt and disappointed by your actions. I do not find your actions satisfactory." Read the article At 55, Representative Ryun Still Trim and Fleet of Foot 10/9/2002 10:39 PM Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kan.), the first American to run a mile under four minutes, jokes about his current lack of speed and fitness. Still, he's much fitter and faster than he admits. Running for Ryun is no longer his occupation or an obsession. But to stay in shape he pounds the pavement every other day, or rides a stationary bike, depending on his legislative schedule. Read the article Republicans Emboldened by Kanjorski Probe 10/9/2002 10:30 PM Seeking to parlay the FBI investigation of a veteran Democratic lawmaker into the pickup of a House seat, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and other GOPleaders are making a big push to oust nine-term Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.). Hastert hosted a fundraiser for the Republican candidate in the 11th district, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, last Thursday in Washington. The event netted $95,000 for Barletta's campaign. Hastert will also stump for Barletta during an upcoming trip to the northeastern Pennsylvania district, possibly as early as next week. Pennsylvania GOPSens. Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum will campaign for Barletta that week as well, and Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) will be in the district today. Read the article Georiga Republicans Fight to Overcome Underdog Image 10/9/2002 10:28 PM Calder Clay and Max Burns, Georgia Republicans who are aiming to win House seats in November, made "the rounds" in Washington last week. Both are convincing, credible candidates who fit the part of congressman -- Burns in a white-haired, stately way, Clay in a down-home, back-slapping rural Georgia way. As they traveled from fundraiser to fundraiser and met with reporters, each had a good pitch for why he will be elected in November. Read the article NYC Teachers Union Backs Pataki 10/9/2002 10:25 PM Republican Gov. George Pataki, running for his third term, has gained the endorsement of New York City's largest teachers union over Democratic challenger H. Carl McCall. The endorsement of the United Federation of Teachers had been widely expected to go Pataki's way. It was formalized Wednesday in a vote by delegates of the New York City-based union, which has 140,000 members. It was the first time the union has endorsed Pataki. The union backed incumbent Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1994 and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone in 1998. Both are Democrats. Union President Randi Weingarten said Pataki earned the endorsement, adding that it the union's policy to endorse incumbents with good records. Read the article Bush Stumps for Tennesse Candidate 10/8/2002 3:46 PM President Bush dropped any suggestion of official business Tuesday as he went campaigning for Tennessee Republicans -- at their expense rather than the taxpayers'. With little but politics on his public schedule for the day, Bush scooped up $1 million for the Tennessee GOP and its gubernatorial candidate, Van Hilleary, and staged an airport rally for the state's other Republican hopefuls. He returned to Washington by dinnertime for a 40-minute thank-you meeting with the Republican National Committee's biggest donors. Read the article Democrat Backs GOP Texas Governor 10/8/2002 3:42 PM Dan Morales turned his back Tuesday on the man who defeated him for the Democratic nomination for governor, endorsing Republican Gov. Rick Perry in his bid for a full term in office. The Democrat's campaign dismissed the move as irrelevant. Morales, a former Texas attorney general, lost to millionaire businessman Tony Sanchez in the March Democratic primary. He announced during a stop in Houston that he was backing the incumbent over his fellow Democrat. "My love for Texas demands that I place politics and partisanship aside in favor of supporting the candidate in this campaign whose election would clearly be in the best interest of Texas," Morales said. Read the article Lame Duck Talk Swirls: Missouri Senate Race Critical in Strategy 10/7/2002 8:47 PM Senate Republicans have mapped out a floor strategy that calls for muscling through GOP-sponsored bills and President Bush's outstanding nominations in a four-week span if they control the majority in a lame-duck session. But Republicans need former Rep. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) to defeat Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.) to take over in a lame-duck session. Because Carnahan was appointed to the Senate seat two years ago, Missouri law allows for Talent to be sworn in immediately if he wins. Democrats brushed off the Republican plan as wishful thinking. "Senator Carnahan is going to win her election," said Ranit Schmelzer, Daschle's spokeswoman. "This discussion is academic." And a second source close to Daschle noted that if Talent were to win, Missouri's Democratic governor would make sure that "the Pony Express would deliver the certification papers" to Washington, a half-joking reference to stalling any effort to seat the Republican quickly. Read the article Oklahoma Governor's Race Closer Than Expected 10/7/2002 8:40 PM Republican Steve Largent remains the front-runner in his bid to succeed term-limited Oklahoma Republican Gov. Frank Keating -- but the latest independent poll indicates the contest is not the cakewalk many expected. The poll, conducted by KFOR (Channel 4) in Oklahoma City, showed Largent, who easily won four House contests in the Tulsa-based 1st District, with 45 percent; the Democratic nominee, state Sen. Brad Henry with 39 percent; and Tulsa attorney Gary Richardson with 13 percent as an independent. Read the article For Liddy Dole, Glamour and Grit 10/7/2002 8:39 PM "I'm a North Carolinian," Elizabeth Dole says, often and with conviction. She was born and raised here, has family here and owns a house here. "I love it here," she tells supporters at a Friday night barbecue for her Senate campaign. It shouldn't matter that until she became a Republican candidate for the Senate, Dole hadn't lived in North Carolina for over 40 years. The state seems to love her back, at least those in this down-home sampling of 800 who skipped the high school football game and a fish fry to watch Dole in a sweltering tobacco warehouse. Read the article Poll: Lautenberg Leads Forrester in New Jersey Senate Race 10/7/2002 8:37 PM Days after entering the tumultuous New Jersey Senate race, former three-term senator Frank Lautenberg (D) has inched ahead of Republican Doug Forrester, although 54 percent of the state's likely voters believe it was "unfair" for Democrats to replace the tarnished incumbent, Robert G. Torricelli, so late in the campaign, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this morning. The poll of 514 likely voters, taken Wednesday through Sunday, found Lautenberg leading 49-45, essentially flipping the 48-44 lead Forrester had over Torricelli in a Qunnipiac Poll released Sept. 12. Lautenberg's lead is within the poll's margin of error, putting the two men in a statistical dead heat. Read the article GOP Seeks to Block Torricelli Fund Transfer 10/7/2002 8:36 PM The Republican Party planned Monday to take its battle against Democrat Frank Lautenberg's New Jersey Senate campaign to the Federal Election Commission, seeking to bar the Democrats' former candidate from giving his campaign money to the party or Lautenberg. The National Republican Senatorial Committee was preparing to file a complaint with the commission contending that because Sen. Robert Torricelli is no longer a candidate, he must refund any leftover contributions for next month's election to his donors, NRSC general counsel Alex Vogel said. The NRSC will ask the commission to block Torricelli from transferring his campaign fund to the party or to Lautenberg as the FEC investigates the Republican complaint, Vogel said. The most Torricelli can give Lautenberg is $1,000, he said. Read the article High Court Declines to Intervene in Election Dispute 10/7/2002 8:35 PM Handing the Democratic Party a major victory in its struggle to retain a slim majority in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it would not stop New Jersey from replacing Democratic Sen. Robert G. Torricelli on the ballot for the state's Nov. 5 senatorial election. Declining to re-enter the thicket of electoral politics they visited in the 2000 presidential election, the justices issued a one-sentence order rejecting Republican Candidate Doug Forrester's request to block an Oct. 2 New Jersey Supreme Court order permitting New Jersey Democrats to substitute former Sen. Frank Lautenberg for Torricelli, who bowed out amid an ethics scandal on Sept. 30, just 36 days before the election. "The application for stay presented to Justice [David H.] Souter and by him referred to the Court is denied," the order said. Read the article Rowland Lead Growing in Connecticut Governor's Race 10/2/2002 10:48 PM Republican Gov. John G. Rowland is building up his lead over his old Democratic foe Bill Curry, a poll released Wednesday shows. The Quinnipiac University poll found that Rowland had a 59 percent to 37 percent lead over Curry among likely voters. Among registered voters, Rowland had 54 percent to Curry's 32 percent, similar to his 51 percent to 34 percent lead among registered voters in a Quinnipiac poll released July 31. "Governor Rowland has halted Curry's momentum. This is the first Quinnipiac University poll in which Rowland did not lose ground to Curry,'' Douglas Schwartz, the poll director said. Read the article Helms Gets Senate Tribute 10/2/2002 10:45 PM The Senate paid tribute Wednesday to retiring Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, an icon of conservatism and uncompromising foe of communism who, colleagues said, abided by a southern courtliness of a bygone era. Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the 84-year-old Senate president pro tempore, called the 80-year-old Helms "a true gentleman of the Old South'' who stuck to his beliefs and demonstrated the power a single senator can wield. "He was not a man to be intimidated,'' Byrd said as Helms' wife, Dorothy, and other friends and family looked on from the gallery. "He took a stand. He was willing to take a stand alone, without a tremor.'' Read the article Bush, Cheney Stump for GOP Hopefuls 10/2/2002 10:42 PM President Bush on Wednesday came to the aid of Republican Robert Ehrlich in Maryland's tight race for governor with a $1.8 million fund-raising effort, while Vice President Dick Cheney brought in $5 million for House candidates at a Washington event. Maryland traditionally votes Democratic, and Bush lost the state decisively in 2000. But a poll released Tuesday indicated Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's 15-point lead in the governor's race has evaporated since January, leaving her in a statistical dead heat with the GOP congressman. "Mr. President, do you feel a little energy in this room, in this campaign?" Ehrlich asked, then joked, "Mr. President, you unfortunately did not bring a check." Read the article Court: Torricelli Can Be Replaced 10/2/2002 10:40 PM The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Democrats can replace Sen. Robert Torricelli on the November ballot with former Sen. Frank Lautenberg, even though the deadline for making such a change has passed. Republicans vowed to take the case to federal court. The 7-0 decision cited previous rulings that said election law should be broadly interpreted to "allow parties to put their candidates on the ballot, and most importantly, to allow the voters a choice." The case isn't over yet: In Washington, Alex Vogel, a lawyer for the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, said the GOP and Republican nominee Douglas Forrester would ask the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday morning to stay the New Jersey high court ruling, in effect freezing Lautenberg's name off the ballot. Read the article Romney Makes Use of Looks 10/1/2002 11:14 PM Republican Mitt Romney, running against a woman for governor of Massachusetts, is turning on the sex appeal. The candidate -- named one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people -- appears barechested in a swimsuit in a new television ad in which he and his wife speak tenderly about their courtship. The telegenic former Winter Olympics chief also invited reporters and photographers this week to watch him run along the Charles River with his dog and one of his five sons. Read the article Lautenberg to Be Torricelli's Replacement in Senate Race 10/1/2002 11:10 PM Democrats announced Tuesday night their choice of former Sen. Frank Lautenberg to replace Sen. Robert Torricelli in a key race on the November ballot. Whether Lautenberg's name will actually appear the ballot with Forrester will be decided in court. Republicans say it is too late to replace Torricelli, who dropped out Monday as his poll numbers continued to fall amid questions about his ethics. The New Jersey Supreme Court will hear arguments on the case Wednesday. Sen. William Frist, chairman of the Senate GOP campaign committee, said Republicans would consider an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if the New Jersey court rules in favor of the Democrats. Read the article Baucus Uses Bush Praise on Campaign Trail 10/1/2002 11:08 PM President Bush applauds the senator's leadership, credits him with helping pass the administration's tax cut, says he's one of those leaders "who put their country ahead of their parties.'' Such ringing praise from a popular president could be the stuff of campaign ads, and in Montana it is -- for Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat seeking re-election to a fifth term in a state with a decidedly Republican tilt. Read the article Florida Governor's Race Draws Heavyweights 10/1/2002 11:06 PM Gov. Jeb Bush and Bill McBride are importing political star power in their campaigns for governor as the race continues to draw attention from the national parties. Bush was joined Tuesday by his sister-in-law, first lady Laura Bush, at a "Women for Jeb" rally at which about 700 women chanted, "Four more years!" "He's worked so hard for public schools, he's worked hard to fight crime. These are issues that are important to all Floridians, and especially to Florida's women," Laura Bush said. Read the article