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Opposites Top Ill. Democrat Ticket
By NICOLE ZIEGLER DIZON Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP) -- They were a Democratic odd couple from day one: liberal Carol
Moseley-Braun, the first black woman in the Senate, and gubernatorial candidate Glenn
Poshard, a conservative congressman from downstate. Party leaders thought they would
attract new voters, but polls show it isn't working out that way.
''Diversity only works if you have unity. The Democrats don't,'' said political scientist Paul
Green of Governors State University near Chicago.
A poll this month by Copley Newspapers showed Moseley-Braun trailing her Republican
opponent, conservative state Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, 46 percent to 37 percent. Poshard,
meanwhile, trailed Republican Secretary of State George Ryan 50 percent to 38 percent
in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Jim Edgar. The margin of error in each poll was
3.5 percentage points.
How did Democrats find themselves in an uphill battle?
Ideological differences between Poshard and Moseley-Braun on issues ranging from gun
control to abortion and gay rights are only part of the problem. Political analysts also cite
the Democrats' shortage of campaign cash, President Clinton's impeachment crisis and the
elimination of straight-party voting in Illinois, traditionally thought to benefit Democrats.
Moseley-Braun, seeking a second term, had welcomed a race against Fitzgerald, who
opposes legal abortion and once proposed state legislation allowing people to carry
concealed weapons. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., won his Senate seat over a conservative
Republican in 1996 by painting him as an extremist.
And Poshard, though conservative, seemed the Democrats' best shot at retaking the
governor's office after 22 years of Republican rule. Four years ago, Edgar drubbed liberal
Democrat Dawn Clark Netsch over her opposition to the death penalty.
''We're running as a team. We're united. It doesn't mean we agree on every issue. We
never have,'' said Poshard, booming with optimism, after the primary.
But so far, Democratic factions have resisted the team concept.
Although Moseley-Braun has the support of Chicago liberals, polls show her trailing in the
other Democratic regions, including blue-collar cities outside Chicago. Poshard draws
rural and blue-collar voters outside Chicago but lags among liberals troubled by his
opposition to legal abortion and gay-rights legislation and his votes against gun control.
Poshard also has gotten caught up in the Clinton controversy, voicing some general
support for the president but staying away from a fund-raiser on his behalf that the
president attended in Chicago Friday night.
Clinton told Poshard's supporters that Poshard had stayed back in Washington to vote
against the Republican-pushed $80 billion tax cut package over the weekend. Poshard did
vote against that, but on the day of his fund-raiser here, he also voted against giving
Clinton fast-track authority to negotiate trade treaties. Clinton was not fazed, though,
saying ''I wouldn't have him anywhere else.''
Don Rose, a Chicago political consultant who has worked for both parties, said the top of
the Democratic ticket has been ''damaged goods from the start.''
Moseley-Braun has been haunted by controversy during her term, including a
much-criticized visit with the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and a federal investigation,
eventually dropped, into accusations Moseley-Braun spent campaign funds on jewelry,
clothes and vacations. She in turn has tried to paint Fitzgerald as a right-wing zealot with
dangerous views on guns.
Ironically, her television ads mirror those Ryan has used to assail Poshard's pro-gun votes.
Ryan, whose campaign had $4.9 million in the bank to Poshard's $850,000 as of June,
has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on commercials attacking Poshard's votes
against gun control and the Clean Air Act.
Fitzgerald is expected to tap into a personal fortune estimated at $40 million as the election
draws nearer. He has run a low-profile campaign, reaching voters primarily through TV
commercials that show a warm, family-oriented candidate.
As Fitzgerald avoids the limelight, Moseley-Braun has made embarrassing public missteps.
She accused conservative columnist George Will of racism for a critical column that
rehashed her past controversies, then apologized to him hours later.
Fund-raising questions dog other Democrats.
Poshard imposed his own fund-raising limits, but ended up returning money for skirting
them. And Chicago Treasurer Miriam Santos, the Democratic nominee for attorney
general, faces an FBI probe of her fund-raising tactics.
Ryan, meanwhile, saw no drop in his poll numbers this month when federal investigators
announced a probe into allegations that secretary of state workers took bribes in return for
truck drivers' licenses.
With Illinois Democrats already facing a bleak campaign season, Clinton's crisis could give
Republicans an added boost in low-profile races, said GOP political consultant Gary
Mack.
''The potential, I think, is there for big things to happen for Republicans,'' Mack said.
AP-NY-09-28-98 1408EDT
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