Democratic Faces That Could Launch Thousands of Votes

The list is decidedly unscientific, but it includes several whose names come up often on Capitol Hill for reasons other than their policy platforms. Among those on it, in addition to Arcuri, are Brad Ellsworth, a swaggering Indiana sheriff; businesswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, who has chiseled features and rides a motorcycle; and Heath Shuler of North Carolina, a strapping former quarterback for the Washington Redskins. In Tennessee, Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr., a lean and stylish 36-year-old, has drawn admiring looks.

Republican Bob Corker, who is running against Ford, has acknowledged the disparity. "I know I'm not as good-looking," Corker said. He hopes his business experience will compensate.

The crop of eye-pleasing pols has party operatives calculating the politics of beauty. "There's a fine line, and you can't cross it," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Voters don't like men who look like pretty boys or women who resemble bimbos. "If you're too good-looking, people won't take you seriously," Emanuel said.

Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, agreed that attractive candidates often have an early advantage. But he said voters' decisions in the polling booth are rarely skin-deep, especially in a closely contested race.

"When each side is spending four or five million, people know the records, and it doesn't have the same impact," he said. He noted that Shuler's popularity has declined in recent weeks following reports that his real estate firm was late in paying taxes. "That's gone back to being a close race."

The two candidates here in this Upstate New York district have similar résumés. Both Arcuri and his GOP opponent, state Sen. Raymond A. Meier, are lawyers. The two first crossed paths in 1985 while working on opposite sides of a local election recount. Polls showed they entered the race with roughly even name identification. They have the same Oneida County political base.

Meier's advantage is that the 24th District is home to 45,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. But Arcuri is a popular prosecutor, the first Democrat elected to the post in 40 years. He's also tall and thin, with dark, gray-flecked hair and sharp features. Meier, who is 53, wears glasses, and his hair is brown and thinning. His look would seem to be perfectly pleasant but nondescript.

Arcuri's image is plastered all over his campaign materials, from yard signs to the trading cards that are distributed at campaign events. In his official campaign photo, he leans forward with one hand on his hip, looking suave and casual. His Web site shows him finishing a marathon.

His political friends tease him about his fashion-magazine persona, but they acknowledge that it's a valuable asset. "He's a young, good-looking guy," said Charlie Evangelista, Ontario County Democratic Committee chairman. "He's going to connect with people."

Arcuri's theory is that voters have an immediate, visceral reaction to candidates that, if powerful enough, can trump ideology or party affiliation. "How do you get around the status quo? You look for younger, energetic faces," he said. But while people may decide in an instant whether or not they are able to vote for him, he said, "then they have to know you can do the job."

He added, "I spend a lot of time assuring people I can be congressional."

His theory might be correct. An independent poll in the district released last night showed him with a 10-point lead.