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50-State Analysis: The Rocky Mountains
Colorado | Idaho | Montana | Nevada | Utah | Wyoming
After 24 years of Democratic governors, this Republican-trending state may be due for a change – but it's not a sure thing. Term limits have caught up with Gov. Roy Romer (D), who doubles as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The race between Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler (D) and state Treasurer Bill Owens (R) looks very close, with Owens perhaps holding a narrow lead. Schoettler had the tougher primary and has a frostier reputation, but Coloradans have seemed to like divided government, with a Democratic governor and a Republican legislature. There's less doubt about the Senate race, in which incumbent Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who switched from the Democrats to the GOP in midterm, has been well out in front of Dottie Lamm (D), wife of former governor Dick Lamm.
The House seat to be vacated by Rep. David E. Skaggs (D) is being sought by two classy candidates, Boulder Mayor Bob Greenlee (R) and state Rep. Mark Udall (D), son of former Arizona representative Morris "Mo" Udall. Udall has been flashing his environmental credentials as a former director of Outward Bound and pounced on a recent Greenlee comment questioning global warming. But Democrats concede that Greenlee, a well-financed moderate with a Boulder base, provides the toughest possible hurdle and could give the GOP the seat. The suburban Denver seat of retiring Rep. Dan Schaefer (R) is expected to go to Tom Tancredo (R), former director of a conservative think tank, but self-financed businessman Henry Strauss (D) is trying to paint him as too right-wing for the district.
When Gov. Philip E. Batt (R) announced he would step down after one term, he set in motion a game of musical chairs that has made Idaho politics exciting this year. Freshman Sen. Dirk Kempthorne (R) decided he would rather deal with state issues in Boise than argue about federal-state relations in Washington. So he became the instant favorite for governor against former state Supreme Court justice Robert Huntley (D). Rep. Michael D. Crapo (R) then announced his bid for the Senate and is strongly favored over former Democratic Party chairman Bill Mauk. That was all in the family, but now the normally safe Republicans find themselves with other challenges. Crapo's shift lured former representative Richard Stallings (D), who held the seat from 1984 to 1992 (when he made the mistake of running against Kempthorne), to attempt a comeback. He is at least an even bet against state House Speaker Michael Simpson (R).
As if that were not enough, Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R), one of the firebrand conservatives of the Class of 1994, was forced to deal with revelations of a past affair with a married political and business associate, made public after she challenged attorney Dan Williams (D), her opponent, to denounce President Clinton's behavior. The race is close, but Chenoweth retains a devoted following.
It's small-stakes politics this year in Big Sky country. With no races for governor or senator, the only action is the challenge to the lone House member, freshman Rep. Rick Hill (R). Farm discontent provides an issue for first-time Democratic nominee Robert "Dusty" Deschamps, a former district attorney with none of the personal problems that hurt Hill's 1996 Democratic opponent and helped the GOP pick up the seat. Deschamps saved his money for a late TV blitz, but Charlton Heston and the National Rifle Association are on the air helping Hill. Deschamps was forced to return a $2,000 contribution from Handgun Control Inc. last week to counter charges that he was squishy on guns. The Republican is a slight favorite.
If politics were a Las Vegas floor show, they could charge top prices this year for the spectacle on and off the Strip. Republicans thought they had a sure bet to reclaim the state house from retiring Gov. Bob Miller (D) when they nominated Kenny Guinn (R), a former Las Vegas educator and utility executive with a bipartisan appeal. But then Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones (D), a stronger campaigner, made a late entry and has turned it into a real race. Guinn is a slight favorite. The main event, anticipated for two years, is the fight between two-term Sen. Harry M. Reid (D) and Rep. John Ensign (R), who has held the House seat in normally Democratic Las Vegas for four years. A slam-bang race has gone down to the wire, with Reid depending on a huge labor get-out-the-vote drive and Ensign countering with his crossover voter appeal.
Shelly Berkley (D), a local attorney, moved quickly to run for Ensign's seat, but has been drawn into an ethics controversy over advice she gave a Strip developer on how to influence local politicians. Former district judge Don Chairez (R) has received lots of help from the national GOP and has made it a real race. But the district favors a Democrat.
Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R) is having exactly the kind of smooth, second-term campaign against Scott Leckman (D), a surgeon, you would expect in this bastion of Republicanism. Not so freshman Rep. Merrill Cook (R), whose Salt Lake City district is the most Democratic in the state. In earlier, losing races, Cook, a millionaire businessman, had challenged Republicans by running as a self-financed independent, and his party base remains insecure. His opponent, former Utah Education Association president Lily Eskelsen (D), has plastered the district with bright-red "Lily" signs and clearly has outcampaigned Cook. Term-limits supporters are running independent ads against Cook, who refused to join Eskelsen in signing their pledge. The Bennett coattails could still pull Cook through, but he has big problems.
The shock over the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard has suppressed campaigning, but few of the races look close anyhow. Gov. Jim Geringer (R), on his way to a second term, criticized his opponent, state Sen. John Vinich (D), for excusing his tardiness at a Rock Springs forum by saying he was operating on "Indian time." After the hate crime, Geringer said, it "kind of reinforces a wrong image." The lone House seat belongs to Rep. Barbara Cubin (R).
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company |
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