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By Ryan Thornburg
Washingtonpost.com Staff
Tuesday, July 13, 1999

Without ever having an election, or even a legislative session, Democrats lost control of the state Senate for the first time since it began meeting more than 200 years ago. Louisville Sen. Dan Seum switched from the Democratic to Republican Party on Monday, creating a 19-19 deadlock in the Senate. Democrats still hold a 65-35 lead in the state House, where they have always held an advantage. Although the 1999 reelection campaign of Democratic Gov. Paul Patton has less than 50 percent support in the latest poll, the lack of a top-tier GOP challenger makes him likely to be the first Kentucky governor in more than 100 years to hold two consecutive terms.

"When I think of Utah, I think of the Mormon Church, but I don't really know what he stands for." – Robert Wiita, of Concord, N.H., on GOP presidential candidate Sen. Orrin Hatch. (The Salt Lake Tribune, July 13))

• Senator Defects to GOP (Lexington Herald-Leader, July 13)

Hatch Makes First Campaign Swing in N.H.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) made his first presidential campaign trip to New Hampshire on Monday, invoking the name of former president Ronald Reagan but refusing to say his potential Supreme Court justice nominees would face a litmus test on abortion.
• Hatch Hits Campaign Trail (The Union Leader, Manchester, N.H., July 13)
• Candidate Hatch Hits Trail In New Hampshire (The Salt Lake Tribune, July 13)

Ventura to 'Return to the Ring'
Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura will say Wednesday what he will be doing at the Aug. 22 World Wrestling Federation "SummerSlam" in Minneapolis, but wrestling officials say he will "once again return to the ring." Ventura last strutted into the ring with his trademark feather boa in 1986.
• Ventura Will Return to Wrestling Ring; Terms, Role Under Wraps (The Star-Tribune, Minneapolis, July 13)
• Psychic Sees Trouble in Ventura's Weight Gain (The Star-Tribune, Minneapolis, July 13)

Round Two: Hillary Clinton Ready to Raise Money
Her campaign won't say how much she's raised so far, but Hillary Rodham Clinton is set to hold her first campaign fund-raiser on Thursday in Manhattan. It will be a private, $1,000-a-head dinner. She continues her exploratory Senate bid in New York today by visiting Westchester County.
• Hil Cranks Up Money Machine (Daily News, July 13)
• Campaign 2000 Key Races (washingtonpost.com)

Signature Confusion Arises in Arkansas Tobacco Suit
Former Arkansas attorney general and one-time gubernatorial candidate Winston Bryant wrote on Monday that someone else signed his signature to a contract with a California law firm that helped the state win a $1.62 billion settlement with the tobacco industry. The state is in court trying to hold back $243 million in payments to the firm. Earlier, Bryant had said "If I did sign it, I only signed it for their perusal and review."
• 'I Did Not Sign' Contract, Bryant Says (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, July 13)

Retiring Louisiana Legislator Decries Negative Politics
Raymond Jetson, a Democrat from Baton Rouge, La., said Monday that negative politics and personal attack ads have made lawmakers so thin-skinned that it has become difficult to have civil political differences. Jetson is retiring from the state House after 16 years in office.
• Jetson Says Attack Ads Affect Legislators (The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., July 13)

Utah Governor's 'Public Communication' Style Working Well
Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt has been in the national news recently because of the Salt Lake City Olympic scandal and the presidential bid of Sen. Orrin Hatch. But his impromptu image is really a well-crafted – and effective – "public communication" strategy.
• Creating a Capitol Image (The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, July 13)

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