© National Journal Group Inc.
Monday, Nov. 16, 1998

Click Here To See RealVideo™ Of David Wu's "Tape" Click Here To See RealVideo™ Of Shelly Berkley's "Reasons" Click Here To See RealVideo™ Of Heather Wilson's "Saying" Click Here To See RealVideo™ Of Rush Holt's "Starr" Click Here To See RealVideo™ Of Newt Gingrich's "Americans" Click Here To See RealVideo™ Of Richard Gephardt's "Defender"

In tight races for House seats in a low-turnout year, last-minute attention grabbers may well have made the difference. Four of these six ads are from some of the closest-watched races of the year. In these four races, the margin of victory was between 4,914 and 5,775 votes, with the average winner polling just 5,374 votes more than their closest competitor. Were five thousand voters swayed by these eleventh-hour offerings?

New Jersey Rep.-elect Rush Holt's "Starr" almost certainly won him the election. The Democrat replayed a tape of incumbent Rep. Michael Pappas singing a laudatory ditty honoring Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr, reminding 12th District voters of Pappas's role in the Lewinsky investigation. (On Nov. 12, Pappas said he now regrets singing the song, saying "If I had to do it over again, I would not do it. It was a mistake. I regret it.")

Democrats David Wu and Shelly Berkley, now new members of Congress representing the 1st Districts of Oregon and Nevada respectively, decided to make their parting shots dirty ones. Wu accused Republican rival Molly Bordonaro of trying to suppress an interview in which she voiced opinions now considered embarrassing, while Berkley savaged her Republican opponent, Judge Don Chairez, for alleged malfeasance in the trial of casino child killer Jeremy Strohmeyer. Republican Heather Wilson, in New Mexico's 1st District, was less harsh, showing voters criticizing opponent Phil Maloof for his attempts to buy the election.

And the leaders were re-elected too. Two men who won't be Speaker of the House next January -- Richard Gephardt and Newt Gingrich -- ran these mild positive ads in praise of their statesmanship and leadership. Gingrich won 71 percent of the vote in his race, but will not actually serve the term for which he was chosen.

National Journal has profiles of newly-elected Holt, Wu, and Berkley, while the Almanac of American Politics features re-elected Reps. Wilson, Gephardt, and Gingrich.

To view the ad, you will need RealPlayer™ 4.0, which is available for free from the Progressive Networks Web site.