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Dole's supporters have tried to pin the abortionist label on Dr. Roy, an obstetrician who delivered no fewer than 5,000 babies and performed several legal abortions. Roy, who has been active in politics all his career, campaigns largely on his support of public health and environmental issues. Dole has his hands full just trying to wrench himself clear of his party. After President Ford pardoned Nixon and announced his amnesty program, Dole quipped that he had received "about all the help from President Ford that I can stand." Neck and neck.
GUY v. YOUNG
Age is clearly the issue in North Dakota. Democratic Challenger William Guy, 55, a popular former Governor, does not say in so many words that Incumbent Milton Young is 76. But his campaign keeps emphasizing a need for a "future" leader. The ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Young prefers to talk about his past services to North Dakotans in his nearly 30 years on Capitol Hill. His supporters argue that young people are moving out of the state and the older voters who remain appreciate the incumbent's "maturity."
Nevertheless, he is campaigning hard for the first time in his career. Just in case voters should think he is over the hill, a campaign film shows him spliting a 1-in. block of wood with a single karate chop. He has yet to deliver a similar blow to his opponent. Young lagging.
EDMONDSON v. BELLMON One of the best-financed candidates in the nation, Republican Henry Bellmon, 53, would have had little trouble winning re-election had he not voted against a constitutional amendment to ban busing. That hurt him in Oklahoma City, where schools are under court order to integrate. Democratic Challenger Ed Edmondson, 55, a former Congressman, tools round the state in his own car preaching a vaguely populist gospel in contrast to Bellmon's support for big business and big oil.
While Edmondson is a deft public speaker, Bellmon, who looks more like a Green Bay Packer than a Senator, never knows what to do with his hands and stumbles over every speech. But that wins him sympathy. "Pore Henry," Oklahomans say somewhat admiringly, "cain't speak worth a damn." Bellmon by a hair.
ECKERD v.STONE
The only real issue between the two Florida candidates is which one has the most energy. Democrat Richard Stone, 46, gathered no moss when he rolled through the state's 67 counties in a breathtaking 15 days. Republican Jack Eckerd, 61, is almost as fast. In the contest to replace G.O.P. Senator Edward Gurney, the member of the Senate Watergate Committee who is now under indictment for conspiracy, bribery and lying to a grand jury, Eckerd has a huge recognition edge. His is a familiar household name, since one of his 422 drugstores can be found in almost every town throughout the state.
Stone speaks Spanish in Miami's Cuban community, plays the harmonica for the country boys, and even broke an arm leaping over a tennis net for a photographer. Both candidates are conservative. Eckerd wants to cut spending; Stone wants "Uncle Sucker" to stop the foreign aid giveaways. A tossup.
The House
McKOOL v. STEELMAN