UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, October 31, 1994
7B
GOP seeking big gains on Nov. 8
Voters to decide fate of 36 governorships
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Republicans are threatening some of the country's most imposing governors in elections on Nov. 8 that will challenge Democratic dominance in Texas, Florida, New York and other states.
The most prominent Republican governors all appeared heading for re-election, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Voters in 36 states will select governors, and with little more than week to go, the AP analysis has found nearly a dozen races that remain close.
Democrats who could be defeated include New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, who has been an eloquent national voice for a decade, and Texas Gov. Ann Richards, whose famously folksy put-downs of former President Bush are coming back to haunt her in the form of a stiff challenge from one of Bush's sons.
Some of the safest incumbents are
Midwestern Republicans — among them George Voinovich in Ohio, Jim Edgar in Illinois and John Engler in Michigan. Their popularity assures the GOP control of at least three of the eight largest states in the region.
California Gov. Peter Wilson could be the fourth. He still leads Democrat Kathleen Brown in state polls despite a late-breaking decline associated with the sagging popularity of an anti-immigrant initiative he supports.
Also coming on strong are George Bush's two sons, George W. Bush and Jeb Bush. They've got at least even chances of topping Richards in Texas and, in Florida, Gov Lawton Chiles, a former three-term senator who has never lost an election.
"The Republicans still seem headed for gains, particularly in key states," said independent analyst Stuart Rothenberg.
Recent polls suggest the tide may be turning slightly. Cuomo, for example, moved from a certain goner to potential survivor in multiple polls last week. He is in a dead heat with Republican state legislator George
Pataki.
But the overall momentum so far remains with Republicans. Democrats are hampered by President Clinton's relatively low popularity and vaguely defined public anger toward incumbents — most of whom are Democrats.
"Our problem starts with the fact that we've got more seats to protect," said Don Swetzer, political director of the Democratic National Committee. "The climate around the country is hurting a lot of incumbents. There's an apathy and a cynicism that's out there."
The current governor breakdown is 29 Democrats, 20 Republicans and 1 independent. Up this year are 21 Democratic seats, 14 Republican and the single independent seat in Connecticut.
An AP review of the races shows 11 are safe or leaning Democratic. Fourteen are safe or leaning Republican. Eleven are too close to call. The tossup states are Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
Minority funding is jeapordized
The Associated Press
'BALTIMORE — A federal appellate decision that overturned a scholarship program for Blacks at the University of Maryland could threaten $1 billion in minority scholarships nationwide, an attorney in the case said.
Richard Samp, a lawyer for the conservative Washington Legal Foundation, said Thursday's ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was the first federal appeals court decision on race-based scholarships.
"This is vary precedent-setting," he said Friday. "The courts are beginning to say what we need to get back to is a colorblind society."
But Robert H. Atwell, American Council on Education president, disagreed and said the court considered only a few important issues related to minority scholarships and therefore the decision may not carry much.
Survey shows increase in violent crime
The Associated Press
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Bosnian塞苏 evacuated civilians from a northwestern town and fought yesterday to hold off Muslim-led government troops, who are on their most successful offensive of the war.
For the second straight day, government forces captured Serb positions in the mountains near Sarajevo. In Saturday's combat, government artillery landed near a U.N. observer post, prompting warnings
of a NATO airstrike if it happened again.
Civil defense officials went door-to-door in the besieged Bosnian capital, advising residents to stay indoors because of fears that Serbs — after a nine-month lull — would renew bombardment of the city in retaliation.
Hospital officials said one civilian was killed and about 10 wounded late yesterday by shelling in the government-held Sarajevo suburb of Hrasnica, which also had been hit Saturday.
Fighting intensifies near Sarajevo
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Violent crimes such as assaults and robberies increased more than three times faster last year than crime overall, the Justice Department said yesterday.
Violent crimes rose 5.6 percent in 1993 to 10.9 million, according to the annual National Crime Victimization Survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The total number of personal and
household crimes — about 43.6 million - edged up 1.7 percent from 1992, it said.
"It's no wonder crime is America's number one concern," said Rep. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's crime panel. "We've become a society of victims or people afraid of becoming victims."
The survey interviewed 100,000 Americans age 12 and older and estimated totals based on those in-person and telephone contacts.
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