'The new mainstream'; Black politicians stress character, not color; 'A good time to be running for office'
Apr. 4, 1990
<BODY>
SEATTLE - On Election Day last November, Norm Rice was downtown hunting votes. A young black man in a jogging suit called out to him: "Norm Rice for mayor? What a joke. No black man can ever be elected mayor in this city."
<HEADER:A266087>
'New day for the South'; Black politicians winning respect, votes; Victory's thrill put aside for uphill battle
June 14, 1990
<BODY>
When Virginia's Douglas Wilder became the nation's first elected black governor in November, a political barrier fell with resounding resonance throughout the South.
In a region where race was once a dominant political theme, the focus is shifting.
<HEADER:A282863>
Jackson, driven to run; Critics say he needs to pay his political dues; Jesse 'wants to change things'
Sept. 11, 1990
<BODY>
WASHINGTON - The Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson today will do what critics have demanded for years. He is on the ballot for a local office, and it's generally agreed he'll win.
But Jackson's bid to become one of two "shadow senators" from the District of Columbia - an unpaid, unstaffed lobbyist for D.C. statehood - has not silenced those who say he still needs to pay his political dues.
<HEADER:A284168>
<ICON:A>
N.C.'s Senate showdown; Can Gantt beat Helms? Election has elements of 'high drama'
Sept. 18, 1990
<BODY>
NEWTON, N.C. - The Old Soldiers Reunion parade winds past the county courthouse, one frothy parade float after another bearing a Teen Queen or a Young Miss, politicians waving from red, white and baby blue convertibles.
<HEADER:A293698>
'Terrible' time for politics but election vital
Nov. 5, 1990
<BODY>
In 48 hours, the angry, edgy and sometimes outrageous election campaign of 1990 at last will be over.
Polls and pundits say voters are disgusted with negative ads, incumbents, the S&&L crisis and the new budget package. Only 36% of the electorate is expected to vote at all.
<HEADER:A294218>
Women vault to new highs at the polls
Nov. 7, 1990
<BODY>
AUSTIN, Texas - Ann Richards, the tough-talking thorn in President Bush's side, survived a campaign as bruising as a bronco ride to become governor of Texas.
"The people of Texas are back," she drawled at a rowdy victory party. "But I didn't win this race. You are the ones that won this race."
<HEADER:A294217>
Incumbents sweat but eke out wins; Bush: No pull in Texas, Fla.
Nov. 7, 1990
<BODY>
Most incumbents kept their jobs Tuesday - but voters gave a lot of them the scare of their political lives.
The tide of voter anger was weaker than many expected, but there were signs Campaign '90 was not business as usual: - President Bush, despite a last-minute campaign swing, lost the redistricting derby. Two of three key states - Texas and Florida - went to Democrats. California remained too close to call. - Incumbent governors fell - including Republican Mike Hayden in Kansas.
<HEADER:A294637>
Newcomers turn politics outside-in
Nov. 8, 1990
<BODY>
The 1990 election hurtled an improbable cast of political outsiders into power.
Though voters, as usual, returned most insiders to office, there were some surprises. The only thing these outsiders have in common is a resolute repugnance for cookie-cutter political molds: - Rumpled, eccentric college professor Paul Wellstone beat Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, R-Minn., with a shoestring campaign and hilarious TV ads. - State Treasurer Joan Finney positioned herself as an outsider, distancing herself from her resume and riding voter anger to victory in the Kansas gubernatorial race.
<HEADER:A338442>
Campaign '92; Democrats hit the trail; Once-lonely presidential field growing
Sept. 20, 1991
<BODY>
LOS ANGELES - A few weeks ago, things seemed so bleak for Democrats there were jokes about canceling the 1992 presidential convention for lack of interest.
No more. The Democratic Party is chock-full with would-be presidents. After months of Democrats making news by saying they weren't running, barely a day goes by when someone isn't announcing, announcing he's going to announce, or announcing he's thinking about announcing.
<HEADER:A343910>
White House senses 'tide of discontent'
Nov. 7, 1991
<BODY>
Chairmen of the national Republican and Democratic parties surveyed the post-election battlefield Wednesday and came to the same conclusion: Their side won.
"Yesterday's election results are very clear: Reagan-Bush economics have failed," proclaimed Democratic Chairman Ron Brown. Said GOP leader Clayton Yeutter: "Tuesday was possibly the best off-year election in the history of the Republican party."
<HEADER:A344060>
Anti-Duke efforts span La. society; 'Sideshow' has turned 'threatening'
Nov. 8, 1991
<BODY>
NEW ORLEANS - Mel Jones just likes to sell flowers. No politics, no faxes to reporters for this New Orleans native. But then state Rep. David Duke got into the Nov. 16 gubernatorial runoff.
Now Jones' quiet florist shop has anti-Duke leaflets strewn amongst the roses.
<HEADER:A345232>
Duke loss not end of his hopes
Nov. 8, 1991
<BODY>
NEW ORLEANS - Former Ku Klux Klan wizard David Duke is looking at his political options - including a presidential candidacy - after losing the Louisiana governor's race in a landslide.
"I've got a lot of time to think," Duke said on CNN's Newsmaker Sunday. He did not rule out running for Congress or in a few Southern presidential primaries next year.
<HEADER:A348928>
Cuomo decision gives campaign new look
Dec. 23, 1991
<BODY>
What might have been a crisp two-person Democratic presidential contest - the Northeastern liberal against the Southern moderate - has suddenly become something of a free-for-all again.
New York Gov. Mario Cuomo's decision Friday not to enter the 1992 race has lifted a dead weight off the campaigns of Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, both competing for the same liberal Democrats.
<HEADER:A351186>
No. 1 worry: Economy; 93% say it's top election issue; 71% say it's getting worse; Voter unease worst since Carter years
Jan. 15, 1992
<BODY>
Barring an international crisis, the 1992 election will be about jobs - how to save the jobs of people such as janitor William Echols and how to create jobs for unemployed secretary Marion Davis and millions of others.
<HEADER:A355488>
Buchanan grabs 40% in N.H., shocks Bush; Tsongas 1st among Democrats
Feb. 19, 1992
<BODY>
MERRIMACK, N.H. - White House alarm bells are ringing today after recession-weary New Hampshire voters gave President Bush a tight primary victory Tuesday.
Conservative Pat Buchanan, who asked New Hampshire to "send a message," shocked Bush by winning more than a third of the Republican voters.
<HEADER:A356009>
Tsongas and Brown divide Maine vote
Feb. 24, 1992
<BODY>
PORTLAND, Maine - Former California governor Jerry Brown's "power-to-the-people" campaign fought Paul Tsongas to a draw in Democratic caucuses here Sunday.
Each won about 30% of delegates to the state convention.
<HEADER:A356300>
Kerrey wins S. Dakota; Harkin 2nd
Feb. 26, 1992
<BODY>
Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey won the South Dakota Democratic primary Tuesday, while President Bush lost one-third of the vote although his was the only name on the GOP ballot.
Kerrey's win breathes new life into his campaign. But Bush's showing adds to the embarrassment he suffered last week in New Hampshire.
<HEADER:A356395>
Dems wage 'wacky' race; Clear front-runner goal of southern primaries; Critical mass of delegates up for grabs
Feb. 27, 1992
<BODY>
ATLANTA - The Democratic presidential race - contested by an unwieldy cast of regional winners - has entered a critical three weeks that will determine how long the party waits for a nominee.
A nominating process that was supposed to quickly produce a winner has created four top contenders who have yet to win outside their backyards. The race is in such turmoil that the first candidate who does well beyond his home turf could rocket to the top.
<HEADER:A360664>
A 'defining moment'; Abortion rights marchers target politicians; 'It is time to no longer be moderate'
Apr. 6, 1992
<BODY>
WASHINGTON - Abortion rights supporters staged one of the largest marches ever on Washington Sunday - an outpouring of fear and fury they hoped would pack a powerful election-year message.
"George Bush is the enemy of our freedom," Kate Michelman, head of the National Abortion Rights Action League, told the crowd. The march, she said, was "a defining moment for pro-choice America."
<HEADER:A366033>
Words spark passion, but few answers
May 21, 1992
<BODY>
Vice President Quayle's rebuke of TV icon Murphy Brown's single motherhood was one sentence in a 41-paragraph speech.
But the rest of his text - downplayed in the ensuing dust-up - examined a jarring and discomfiting issue propelled into prominence by the Los Angeles riots.
<HEADER:A368750>
Clinton remark risks standing with Jackson
June 15, 1992
<BODY>
Bill Clinton wants to be a presidential nominee who's beholden to no narrow constituency, a candidate reaching beyond the Democratic Party's traditional components.
So his attack on rap artist Sister Souljah at a weekend meeting of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition was a deliberate move to underscore his ideological independence.
<HEADER:A371698>
Clinton, Gore off to convention; Democrats see team as a 'contrast'
July 10, 1992
<BODY>
Few candidates could be less representative of a generation that challenged the nation's basic values than two button-down white men from the small-town South.
But in Bill Clinton's selection Thursday of Tennessee Sen. Al Gore as his running mate, a torch has been passed.
<HEADER:A372399>
'Comeback Kid' on deck; Clinton task tonight: 'Lay it out there'
July 16, 1992
<BODY>
NEW YORK - A Democratic convention that turned into a rolling, three-day political advertisement has set the stage for what may be the one event that matters: Bill Clinton's acceptance speech.
After five-days of near-seclusion - churning out draft after scribbled draft in a midtown hotel suite - Clinton tonight gives a speech that his own aides, who are not given to building up expectations, are flatly calling the most important of his career.
<HEADER:A372532>
New math of campaign: One-on-one
July 7, 1992
<BODY>
NEW YORK - The new political math, forced on the country by a billionaire with a Texas twang, is back to basics.
Ross Perot's astounding announcement Thursday that he won't run for president takes the 1992 race out of the Twilight Zone and back to an old-fashioned, two-party slugfest.
<HEADER:A376251>
Baker to the rescue; 'Everything' is at stake in Houston
Aug. 14, 1992
<BODY>
President Bush heads to Houston and next week's Republican convention hoping his political nightmare is over.
James Baker, his oldest political ally, is at his side again.
For four days, there will less focus on bleak news of an ailing economy, and more on an invigorated president amid cheering disciples. His polls are likely to tilt upward.
<HEADER:A377094>
'There's one issue ... the economy'
Aug. 21, 1992
<BODY>
HOUSTON - For all the talk about President Bush's experience, Bill Clinton's record as governor and the failures of Democrats past, Republicans leave this city confronting one fact: The campaign is going to be largely fought over the economy.
