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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 MAYOR OF SAN DIEGO
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 CONGRESSMAN, OKLAHOMA
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 TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER
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 CONGRESSWOMAN, NEW YORK
"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.