Campaign Trail

Searching for a good mate

States that offer key delegates also could be ground zero for vice presidential candidates, as Texas Gov. George W. Bush and vice president Al Gore look for an edge.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge hails from a swing state with 23 electoral votes, and is a Catholic who believes in abortion rights. Bush was associated with an anti-Catholic institution in the primaries, and may see Ridge’s contrary view on abortion as a way to move the ticket to the center.

Failed presidential candidate Rep. John Kasich could help in his home state of Ohio. Gov. George Pataki might help Bush upset Gore in New York, a state no Democrat can afford to lose.

Retired Gen. Colin Powell is a certain short-lister because of his popularity throughout the country. Elizabeth Dole might help court women. Gore’s list is almost certain to include California Gov. Gray Davis. If he wants to make a serious run at Florida, Sen. Bob Graham would be considered.

Gore advisers openly tout former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. They say naming Defense Secretary William Cohen, a Republican, could give the ticket bipartisan appeal.

Sen. John Kerry, a Catholic from Massachusetts, and Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, a Hispanic and former congressman from New Mexico, are also mentioned.

Playing with numbers

It takes 270 electoral votes to become president. Bush and Gore both will look to the same six battleground states in their race to 270: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri and New Jersey. These states, which award more than 100 electoral votes, traditionally swing between Democrats and Republicans, and polls suggest Bush and Gore are evenly matched in the region.

Polls

Bush and Gore emerged from primary fights in a dead heat for the presidency. National polls released after their Super Tuesday landslides showed the pair even in both head-to-head matchups and in public perceptions of their political skills.

Exit polls showed that Californians, given a choice between Bush or Gore, selected the vice president over the Texas governor 51 percent to 44 percent. Hispanics, an emerging force in national politics, chose Gore by more than a 2-to-1 margin in the state.

Though not binding, the balloting was closely watched because California is the biggest electoral prize in November. Gore almost certainly can’t win the presidency without the state’s 54 electoral votes, analysts say.