gingrich

COLUMN: Election Bulletin Board

CANDIDATE LARSON NOT RUNNING FROM GINGRICH

   President Clinton and his backers never say ''Dole'' these days without the immediate suffix ''Gingrich.'' That's how convinced Democrats are of the unpopularity of the sharp-edged speaker of the House.
   Republican congressional candidate Andy Larson of Duluth, on the other hand, said Newt deserves much more credit.
   ''Anybody that criticizes him ought to read his book,'' said Larson, an attorney and campaigner challenging DFLer U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar in Minnesota's 8th District. ''Really, we could look at that book as a Republican Party platform for the next six years. I think he's on the right track.''
   Larson owns two copies of ''To Renew America'' -- one on tape, so he can listen in the car, the other in hardcover. ''I use it as a reference book if I want to find out how he stands on a particular issue.''
   Larson also is enrolled in a long-distance course on campaigning put on by Gingrich's GOPAC. He says he embraces Newtonian politics ''100 percent.''

That's more like it

   After a summer of cold shoulders, a group crusading against negative campaign ads is finally getting a response from Northeastern Minnesota candidates.
   More than half of the region's congressional and legislative candidates have now signed the Citizens Campaign Advertising Code, a pledge against dirty ads. Statewide, about 64 percent of candidates have taken the pledge.
   Newly signed on: 8th Congressional District candidates Stan Estes, Andy Larson and U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar; state Senate candidates Sen. Sam Solon (District 6) and Steve Keillor (8); and state House candidates Rep. Irv Anderson (3A), Rep. Willard Munger (7A) and Chris Dahlberg (7B).
   Already signed on: Senate candidates Sen. Doug Johnson and Ryan Seidelmann (6), Bruce Kasden and Becky Lourey (8), House candidates Lilah Crowe and Rep. Loren Solberg (3B), Steve Khalar and Russell M. Smith (6B), William Bushey (7A), Bill Hilty and Jim Taylor (8B).
   Still withholding their pledges: Senate candidates Sen. Jerry Janezich and Tom Dean (5), Jerry Shuster (6), Paul Couillard and Gary J. Nelson (7); and House candidates Joel Maggert (3A), Matt Matasich and Rep. Tom Rukavina (5A), Mark Groettum and David Tomassoni (5B), Rep. Thomas Bakk and Dawn Marks (6A), Rep. Thomas Huntley (6B), Rep. Mike Jaros (7B), Rep. Mary Murphy and Ray Wheeler (8A).

Mark your calendar

   Don't say no one ever gave you a chance to hear how the candidates stand.
   --At 3 p.m. today, WDSE-TV Ch. 8 will rerun discussions between St. Louis County Board candidates John Fedo and Bill Kron and between Wisconsin Assembly District 73 candidates Jim Balcum and Frank Boyle.
   --Duluth-area candidates for the state Legislature are expected at a public forum at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the Greysolon Plaza Building, 231 E. Superior St., in the Moorish room, lobby level. The Minnesota Senior Federation-Northeast Coalition will ask candidates to address prescription drug prices, long-term care and taxes, then allow for audience questions.
   --Wisconsin Assembly candidates Boyle and Balcum will face off at 7 p.m. Monday in a debate broadcast on KUWS-FM 91.3 radio. If you want to watch the debate, head to the Third Floor Gallery in the Holden Fine Arts Center at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
   --The week opens big in Duluth for U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, DFL-Minn., who will rally with the College Democrats at the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Bull Pub from 1-2 p.m. Tuesday, debate Republican Rudy Boschwitz and Dean Barkley of the Reform Party from 7-8 p.m. that night on WDSE-TV Ch. 8 and KUMD-FM 103.3, and rally with Vice President Al Gore at midmorning Wednesday in Duluth.
   --Candidates for Duluth-area legislative seats and St. Louis County Board are expected to join in a forum from 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Central Hillside Community Center. Federal candidates also have been invited.
   --KUWS-FM 91.3 will sponsor a debate between Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District candidates David Obey and Scott West at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The debate, the only one the candidates have scheduled in the area, will be in the Manion Theater in the Holden Fine Arts Center.
   --Minor-party candidates for vice president meet in a debate 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on C-SPAN.
   --To vote absentee, or without going to a polling place, Minnesotans should mail in applications for absentee ballots by Nov. 1, state officials advise. For more information, contact a municipal clerk or county auditor.