Student leaders prep for today's election
By Helena Payne
News editor
The buildup of months of planning peaks today as voters populate the polls in support of their preferred candidates.
In St. Joseph County, three prominent races have stirred up election chatter, and while most Notre Dame students are unable to vote in the local election, those students who are active in the current race take it seriously.
The contest for the House of Representatives has been called the region's most important election as the two major political parties vie for a majority in Congress.
St. Joseph County's new 2nd congressional district, has witnessed one of the most aggressive campaigns in the nation with the race between Republican Chris Chocola and Democrat Jill Long Thompson, replacing Democratic congressman Tim Roemer.
"The person who wins this district will have an important impact on Congress," said senior Erin LaRuffa, a fundraising intern for the Long Thompson campaign.
LaRuffa and senior Mark Hayes head the Notre Dame chapters of the College Democrats and College Republicans respectively, and they have also been working on their parties' congressional campaigns.
Local voters have been bombarded heavily during the campaign with attack ads linking Long Thompson to terrorism and Chocola to corporate greed. During the campaign, WNDU-TV has yanked negative spots about both candidates, according to the South Bend Tribune.
"As sad as it is, negative ads are more effective than positive ads," Hayes said, mentioning the struggle in this race for the candidates to differentiate themselves from the opposition.
"Both candidates have views and opinions that fit with a lot of different people," Hayes said. "It's too difficult to be too liberal or too conservative and appeal to a solid base of voters on a national level."
In other major races:
The contest for St. Joseph County Prosecutor is between incumbent Republican Chris Toth and Democrat Michael Dvorak.
Democrat Frank Canarecci will face Republican incumbent Rick Seniff in the race for county sheriff.
All News Stories for Tuesday, November 5, 2002
