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BORN: Sept. 8, 1941, Cape Girardeau EDUCATION: Southeast Missouri State U, B.S., 1963 FAMILY: Husband, Robert; one child, one stepchild RELIGION: Roman Catholic MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Timber-company owner; newspaper publisher; teacher POLITICAL CAREER: None ADDRESS: P.O. Box 676, Farmington 63640. Tel.: 573-760-8800
Firebaugh is running against not one, but two Republican conservatives--but not in the same election. She is the Democratic candidate in both the special election to finish Bill Emerson's term and the general election to fill the open seat in the new term. To get some name recognition against the better-known Jo Ann Emerson, Firebaugh traveled to every county in the district. And thanks to the fluke of having two putative G.O.P. opponents, she may split the conservative vote wide enough to win.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES Abortion NO Guns YES Gays NO Bosnia NO NAFTA YES Welfare NO Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "The last thing we should be doing is cutting Medicare, student loans and environmental protection."
RICHARD KLINE (R) District 8
BORN: Nov. 19, 1939; location NR EDUCATION: NR FAMILY: Wife, Lucille; four children RELIGION: Christian MILITARY: Coast Guard, 1958-80 OCCUPATION: Military officer POLITICAL CAREER: None ADDRESS: General Delivery, Gipsy 63750. Tel.: 573-495-2302
A true underdog, Kline is not only an unknown political entity, he's not even on the ballot in the first election for this seat, a special election to complete Bill Emerson's term. Adding insult to electoral injury, the state's two G.O.P. Senators have endorsed Emerson's widow. Still, this prickly individualist, who refuses to divulge his birthplace and educational history because they "are not required by the Constitution," has built a platform around Christianity, a flat tax and prayer, which he will surely need in the second (general) election.
THE ISSUES
Budget NR Medicare NR Defense NR Abortion NR Guns NR Gays NR Bosnia NR NAFTA NR Welfare NR Medical Leave NR (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "I spent $1,012.13 on the primary campaign. In my victory speech I said, 'With or without [Republican Party] help, God and I will win the election.'"
KENNY HULSHOF (R) District 9 (Northeast--Columbia)
BORN: May 22, 1958, Sikeston EDUCATION: U of Missouri, B.S., 1980; U of Mississippi, J.D., 1983 FAMILY: Wife, Renee Lynn Howell RELIGION: Roman Catholic MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Public defender; prosecutor; state Assistant Attorney General POLITICAL CAREER: Sought Republican nomination for Boone County prosecutor, 1992; Republican nominee for U.S. House, 1994 ADDRESS: P.O. Box 1621, Columbia 65205. Tel.: 573-443-3683
As in the case of fellow Missourian Harry Truman, newspapers reported (after the primary) that Hulshof had lost his election; and as with Truman, they were wrong. In the end, Hulshof won the nomination by 168 votes, confirming his expertise in close finishes--he lost to incumbent Harold Volkmer by 5% in 1994. But with Volkmer's support dwindling in the past two elections, Hulshof could wake up on Nov. 6 to find out...Dewey won again.
THE ISSUES