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The race so far has been surprisingly nonideological. Coles has attempted to underscore the public perception of Gingrich as self-consumed. "We can't afford to keep sending to Washington a Congressman who believes it is more important to hear his own voice than it is to hear the voice of the people," he says. But he also has emphasized issues on which he hopes to outdo Gingrich at his own game, arguing that he will work harder for a balanced budget and be tougher on crime. The candidates have been blunt about their differences on one subject: Coles' money. Gingrich, who has in the past spent freely and said there should be more money in politics, told a campaign kickoff rally that Coles was trying to buy his seat by spending $3 million of his own money. Coles responded that Gingrich had made up the figure, although Head concedes that her candidate "has said we are not going to run out of money." (Coles must survive a July primary against a lesser-known Democrat, computer entrepreneur Cliff Oxford; the betting is that Coles will prevail.)
Even with a self-supplied war chest, defeating Gingrich will not be easy. Gingrich's margin in the Republican primary in 1992 was close--he won by a mere 980 votes. But in the Republican sweep in 1994, he racked up 64% of the vote. This time he plans to spend $3 million to get re-elected, financed by a campaign organization, Friends of Newt Gingrich, that solicits donations from across the U.S. "I think Newt's percentage of the vote will go down, but I don't think he is going to lose," says Merle Black, a political-science professor at Emory University. Gingrich's fate could depend in part on how the investigations into his ethical controversies play out in the district and on how strong Bob Dole's presidential coattails turn out to be in November. But even if Gingrich prevails, the Democrats can rejoice in one outcome: Coles and his money will keep Gingrich pinned down in his district rather than traveling across the country to raise money and votes for his Republican troops. In that sense, the race in the Sixth is the place to watch the next chapter in the Revolution.