MICHAEL LEAVITT GOVERNOR OF UTAH
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 MAYOR OF INDIANAPOLIS
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 CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL
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 SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, KANSAS
"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 OHIO TREASURER
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 CONGRESSMAN, OHIO