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By Ryan Thornburg
Washingtonpost.com Staff
Monday, May 24, 1999

While Congress is trying to clear its plate before the Memorial Day recess, many of its members are busy cooking up a winning strategy against potential challengers back home. An unidentified Massachusetts Democrat said freshman Rep. Michael Capuano is "obsessed" with potential Democratic primary challenger John O'Connor.

"I hope you all will take an interest in politics. The Constitution isn't worth anything unless we have people who take the ideas off the Constitution and make them real." – Former senator John Glenn, at Brandeis University's commencement. (The Boston Globe, May 24)

• Capuano Keeps Eye on Rival O'Connor (The Boston Globe, May 24)

Battles for seats being vacated by retiring members are also taking shape. In a prelude to Washington's Democratic primary to succeed GOP Rep. Jack Metcalf, Snohomish County Council President Rick Larsen and state Rep. Jeff Morris argued this weekend over the recent whale hunt by members of the state's Makah tribe.
• Whaling Issue Divides Two Key Democratic Candidates (Seattle Post-Intelligence, May 24)

New Jersey Democrats are trying to figure out whether Rep. Frank Pallone is really running for the Senate seat being left by Frank Lautenberg (D), or if he is just building a reelection war chest.
• Pallone's Bid for Senate Runs Into Unexpected Snags (The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., May 24)

Four presidential candidates will be in Iowa during this week leading up to Memorial Day, which marks the beginning of summer. And summer marks the beginning of an intensified campaign season.
• Iowans Will Hear Bradley, Forbes, Bauer and Keyes (The Des Moines Register, May 23)

Rep. Jefferson Wants La. Governor to Renounce David Duke
Rep. William Jefferson, a black Democrat who is trying to unseat Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster (R), said Foster should apologize for "this substantial relationship with David Duke." Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, is under investigation in connection with tax issues surrounding a political mailing list he sold to Foster for a hefty $150,000. Duke says a friend of Jefferson is pushing the investigation for political reasons.
• Jefferson Says Foster Should Apologize (The Advocate, Baton Rouge, May 24)

N.H. Governor Continues to Drop in Polls
Ever since her advocacy of an unpopular plan to fund the state's schools, New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) has become less and less popular. Two months ago, an independent poll showed Shaheen with a 66 percent job-approval rating. She now has 46 percent approval. Shaheen's husband is Vice President Gore's state campaign chief.
• Shaheen, House Slipping in Poll (The Union-Leader, Manchester, N.H., May 24)

Penn. Governor Returns to Vietnam on Trade Mission
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a frequently mentioned Republican vice-presidential possibility, returned to Vietnam last week for the second time since he earned a Bronze Star there.
• Ridge Reflects on His Vietnam Duty (The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 21)

State Capitol Paper Dies in Denver
As national reports continue to show decreasing media attention on state government and politics, a Colorado newspaper that focused on legislators and the like bit the dust at the end of this year's session. The college that funded the paper as a training ground for journalism students said there was not enough interest to justify the cost.
• Metro Ends Legislative Newspaper (The Rocky Mountain News, Denver, May 24)

Ryan Thornburg can be reached at ryan.thornburg@washingtonpost.com