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MASSACHUSETTS. In perhaps the most consistently liberal state in the nation, Edward J. King, a onetime guard for the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Colts, preached tax-cutting to unseat incumbent Governor Michael Dukakis in the Democratic primary. Dukakis and liberals around the country are still not sure exactly what hit him. "Incumbentitis," the mere fact of holding office in this surprising, restless year, was doubtless a factor. In addition, Dukakis, though far from a big-spending liberal, had raised taxes after promising in his 1974 campaign that he would not. King is clearly to the right of his Republican opponent, Francis Whiting Hatch Jr., a proper Yankee of venerable lineage who is attracting the support of many liberal Democrats. Hatch, who proposes moderate tax relief, describes King's plan to cut property taxes by $1.3 billion over a three-year period as a "fiscal fantasy." MINNESOTA. Second only to the Bay State in its staunch liberalism, Minnesota has a Democratic candidate for the Senate no less conservative than King. Businessman Robert Short defeated liberal Congressman Donald Fraser in the primary, partly by calling for a whopping $100 billion cut (i.e. 20%) in the federal budget. Short's Independent-Republican opponent, David Durenberger, claims that such a slash would be a "disaster for the needy. We cannot afford either on humanitarian or economic terms such an unrealistic Short cut." Vice President Walter Mondale and state labor leaders then persuaded Short to say that his $100 billion budget cut was a goal, not an immediate prospect. FLORIDA. Taxes are relatively light in this state, but the economic issues are as heavy as elsewhere. The question is which gubernatorial candidate can move further to the right. Millionaire Drugstore Owner Jack Eckerd promises to put as much money into the race as "it takes to win." He is urging a state constitutional limit on taxes and spending. "The state government is the biggest business in Florida," he tells crowds. "And that's where my record has been. I'm going to use a lot of businesspeople to help solve some of our problems." His Democratic opponent, State Senator Robert Graham, wants to put a two-year freeze on all property taxes and establish a tax-reform commission. He claims to know the value of a buck, since he worked at 100 different jobs—from plumber to stable hand to cigar maker—during the primary campaign.
NEW JERSEY. The governorship is not at stake, but taxes provide the key issue in a zestful senatorial race. Conservative Republican Jeff Bell scored an upset primary victory over incumbent Senator Clifford Case by calling for a steep ; federal income tax cut along with sizable reductions in federal spending.