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Rising Republicans(TIME, August 19) -- They may not agree on abortion or gun control. One of them used to be a Democrat, another a pro football player. But they all share a talent for getting noticed
Michael Leavitt Part of the reason his approval ratings exceed 80% is that Leavitt fits the evolving profile of Utah's citizenry, a conservative group joined lately by cyberhungry and outdoors-loving transplants from the West Coast. He's hip to online projects like the Western-based "virtual university," and he has defended the environment more forcefully than the Republican-controlled state legislature. Still, Leavitt is no Al Gore: he supports the state's strict antiabortion law and the recent ban on after-school clubs, imposed to deter gay-student alliances. If Dole wins, look for Leavitt to be offered a Cabinet post, possibly at Interior.
Steve Goldsmith Goldsmith has never made any secret of his big political ambitions. When he successfully sought a second term as mayor last year, he warned voters that even if he won, he might make a run for the governorship. He did. In May he won the G.O.P. gubernatorial primary, despite the fact that Indiana's Republican leadership lined up behind one of his opponents, a former state-party chairman. Polls now show Goldsmith, 49, running 6 points ahead of his opponent, Lieutenant Governor Frank O'Bannon. Hoosier voters seem to appreciate his rapid-fire speech but also his consistent campaign promises of smaller, cheaper government. He has drawn national attention as an advocate of privatizing city services.
Dan Lungren His brash style has endeared him to the Newt Gingrich wing of the party. During his campaign for attorney general, Lungren chased his Democratic opponent into an elevator, shouting his demand that the two hold a debate on the spot. And at the 1992 convention, he urged Republicans not to be "shamed into silence" over the party's controversial 1988 Willie Horton ad. Said he: "This is one Republican who won't be cowed." The son of Richard Nixon's physician, he served 10 years in the House, forging ties with Gingrich, Senate majority leader Trent Lott and other conservatives. The 49-year-old is now openly running to succeed Governor Pete Wilson, mainly by showing off the state's declining crime rate since Lungren took office. 
Sam Brownback "Congress doesn't need a facial. It needs a fire hose," said Brownback, 39, after discovering that Congress had its own beautician. The lawyer and former farm broadcaster has taken a scouring approach to politics, both in the House as a freshman and in Kansas, where he scored a primary win over moderate Sheila Frahm, the anointed heiress to Bob Dole's seat. As for November, well, Kansas hasn't had a Democratic Senator since 1932. 
Kenneth Blackwell The great mentioner included this former Cincinnati mayor on the second tier of rumored Veep picks. The first African American to hold statewide executive office in Ohio, Blackwell has a resume that includes stints as city councilman, an ambassador to the U.N., and Deputy Housing Secretary under Jack Kemp. The son of a meat packer and a practical nurse, Blackwell was a Democrat growing up but switched parties in the 1980s. His conversion was driven in part by what he said is a "basic Jeffersonian" distrust of bureaucracies. "Doomsday," he said, "is the day we get all the government we pay for."
John Kasich Son of a mail carrier, Kasich delivers his balance-the-budget message with both regularity and passion. "The enemy of the American people is the status quo," says the chairman of the House Budget Committee. "It takes us on the road to bankruptcy." Kasich (rhymes with basic) isn't afraid to tilt at the White House or at G.O.P. leadership in order to cut spending. Kasich, 44, could win John Glenn's Senate seat in '98, if he can live down the infamy of once getting thrown off the stage at a Grateful Dead concert. He is less a Deadhead, though, than a red--as in the color of the deficit--head.
Susan Golding After presiding over a local economic rebound and being re-elected by 78% of the vote, Golding is expected to go places, just like her city hall mentor, Governor Pete Wilson. One option: a challenge next year to Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. Skeptics wonder whether Golding, a pro-choice supporter of gay rights and affirmative action, can win over G.O.P. conservatives. This week she can start at home, showcasing her city--and herself. 
Steve Largent In order to set the N.F.L. record for pass receptions in the most consecutive games (177), a receiver needs impeccable timing, and that's what this former Seattle Seahawk and current Representative from Tulsa has. Largent, 41 and a Christian conservative, not only chose the right time to run for his first elective office--he trounced Clinton associate Stuart Price in '94--but also found himself at the center of a potent team of Republican freshmen. This father of four opposes abortion rights, favors a flat tax and thinks the Social Security system should be phased out. He is eager to prove he is more than an ex-jock trading on his name. Says Largent: "I want to show people I can run more than post routes."
Rick Perry The farmer-friendly commissioner and former state legislator would have been a happy man if Phil Gramm had won the G.O.P. presidential nomination; Perry was considered an odds-on favorite to take Gramm's Senate seat if it opened up. A former Air Force pilot, Perry, 46, flies his own plane around the state checking on ranchers and farmers. "He has a very bright future," Gramm said at a lunch at the 1992 G.O.P. convention in Houston. "I have no doubt in my mind, Rick someday is either going to be Governor of our state or a Senator from Texas." Four years later, the scenarios still simmer; Gramm or junior Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison could get a Cabinet post, rekindling Perry's Senate dreams.
Susan Molinari "Some Republicans deserve to have a gender gap," says Molinari. "but not Bob Dole." It was a teeny preview of her big night this week,when the 38-year-old is scheduled to deliver the convention's keynote speech. Dole's pick of the pro-choice and pro-gun-control legislator rankled his right flank, but Dole knew what he was getting: charm, energy, even some star power as a Friend of Newt's. Her talent is partly rooted in her genes: she inherited her father's Staten Island seat in a 1990 special election. Her stature was sealed when Representative Bill Paxon took the floor to propose to her, on bended knee. More TIME This Week |
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