Winners And Losers Voters Finally Have Their Say, But Money Talks The Loudest

Big government lost on election night. Working women and Hispanics backed a winner for president. And money won all over the country, as race after race went to the candidate with the most bucks.

Tuesday’s coast-to-coast balloting produced plenty of winners and losers. Republican Sen. Jesse Helms - the conservative icon from North Carolina - won his rematch with Democrat Harvey Gantt. But in the GOP bulwark of Florida, Bob Dole went down in defeat.

Yet more was at stake than the fate of the candidates. Ideas such as welfare reform also were tested. Demographic groups - white men, gays and lesbians - stood to gain or lose with their favored candidates.

Here’s a look at some winners and losers:

Loser - Big government. More than half the voters queried in exit polls said government should do less.

Winner - Direct democracy. Ninety ballot questions in 20 states tied a record set in 1914. California’s vote on affirmative action had national implications. Traps for hunting bears and bobcats were banned in Massachusetts. Ohioans decided not to take a chance on riverboat gambling. Other issues ranged from managed-care medicine to legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.

Winner - Tough love. Four out of 10 voters said the new federal law that tries to reform welfare by requiring recipients to work is about right. An equal proportion said benefits should be cut even further. Only one out of every five said the new law cuts too much.

Winner - Money. In virtually every House race, the candidate with the most money won. In four out of five Senate races, it was the same story.

Loser - Newt Gingrich. About six out of 10 voters in exit polls held an unfavorable opinion of the Republican House speaker and computer-age conservative visionary. By a smaller margin, they also disapproved of his GOP Congress. But Gingrich is likely to get the last laugh; the House appears likely to remain in Republican control.

Winners - House GOP freshmen. They ran scared, but the overwhelming majority were re-elected.

Winner - Hillary Clinton. It was a squeaker, but more voters held a favorable view of the controversial first lady than disapproved of her.

Losers - Religious conservatives, gun owners and white men. Two-thirds of white religious right voters, more than half of gun owners and a plurality of white men went for Dole.

Winners - Gays and lesbians, working women, Internet users and Hispanics. Two thirds of gays and lesbians, more than half of working women and half of regular Internet users went for Clinton. And 72 percent of Hispanics voted for Clinton - an increase of 11 percentage points over 1992.

Winner - Tax cuts. Nearly three out of five voters said they think you can cut the federal deficit and reduce taxes at the same time. But interestingly, two-thirds rejected Dole’s tax-cut plan. Most also were skeptical of Clinton’s promise to cut the deficit while preserving Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment. Fewer than one-third said they think he can do it.

Loser - Medicare. The program faces bankruptcy, but the message to politicians is: If you try to rein in costs, it will cost you votes.

Winner - Al Gore. He got re-elected vice president, and voters said they prefer him over Jack Kemp in the 2000 presidential election. But Gore’s slim lead over Kemp in voter preference was not enough for him to start doing the Macarena.