BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Local voters may not yet be paying much attention to Northern Kentucky's 4th District race between Republican Gex "Jay" Williams and Democrat Ken Lucas.
But the Washington press can't get enough of it.
Check out these takes:
"Lucas has made skillful use of the allegations against Williams," from The Hill. "This has put Lucas . . . in the practically unique position of being a Democrat who can take advantage of the scandal environment."
"Lucas may be running the Democrats' best House campaign in the country," says The National Journal. "He has taken a race that was supposed to (be) a GOP lock and turned it into a tossup. Of course, Lucas has been helped by the ineptness of his GOP foe.
"The district voted against Clinton in both '92 and '96. The fact that a Democrat has a shot at winning this district in a mid-term election is almost unbelievable. And because of Williams' own ethics problems, he may not benefit from any potential Clinton fallout."
"Gex Williams has been dogged by controversy since winning the nomination this May, giving conservative Democrat . . . Ken Lucas a rare opportunity to put this seat in the Democratic column," writes political newsletter publisher Charlie Cook.
"Lucas has run a solid campaign this far. He has proven to be a strong fund-raiser, has exploited Williams' missteps and has effectively positioned himself as in tune with the conservative views of the district's voters," Mr. Cook said.
"The district, however, is still one of the most Republican in the state and, as such, Williams could win in spite of himself. Williams, a well-connected social conservative, is likely to be helped by the fact that the top of the ticket features popular (U.S. Senate candidate) Jim Bunning, and the Clinton controversy should help boost Republican turnout. Expect a closely contested and brutal race.
"This race is a tossup."
Surprising showing
That last statement from Mr. Cook seems hard to argue with just a month from Election Day.
Mr. Lucas has surprised the Republicans, and quite a few of the Democrats, by keeping pace with Mr. Williams in a district that hasn't sent a Democrat to Congress since Lyndon Johnson was in the White House.
Since mid-summer, Mr. Lucas' campaign has been persistent in badgering Mr. Williams for a host of alleged, and in some cases over-hyped, ethical and legal problems dealing with his military service, a land deal and political phone calls from the Kentucky Statehouse.
There have been times Mr. Lucas and his top two political operatives -- campaign manager John Lapp and attorney Mark Guilfoyle -- have gone a little far in attacking Mr. Williams.
Saying Mr. Williams "lied" about his military service is a stretch if not an outright misrepresentation.
Mr. Williams has repeatedly explained how it was some inattention on his part combined with what he believes was a clerical error by Statehouse staff that led to a legislative directory publishing that he had graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. Mr. Williams attended the academy but he did not graduate.
But while Mr. Williams and the Republicans have groused, cried and moaned about the "negative" campaigning, the National Republican Party didn't help the situation much last week with a questionable ad of its own.
All three Cincinnati television stations yanked the ad, partially from the pounding they took from the Lucas camp but mostly because the commercial stretched the truth about Mr. Lucas' record as Boone County judge-executive.
Mr. Williams' and his campaign had nothing to do with the ad. It was placed by the National Republican Congressional Committee. But Mr. Williams is taking the local heat about the ad because it was put on the airwaves to help his campaign.
Mr. Williams also looked bad last week after the Lucas camp hit him for voting to raise the pay of county officials by several thousand dollars, a bill that passed the legislature earlier this year. Like many lawmakers, Mr. Williams said he made a mistake voting for the bill, which carried scant information about the size of the raises when it was rushed through the legislature during the last days of this year's General Assembly session.
But after realizing how big the raises were, Mr. Williams acknowledged he talked to Fort Thomas attorney and statehouse candidate Joe Fischer about suing the state to get the pay raises thrown out.
That's exactly what Mr. Fischer successfully did. He won his suit two weeks ago in Campbell County Circuit Court when Judge Bill Wehr ruled the raises unconstitutional.
Mr. Williams' charge that Mr. Lucas is tied to trial attorneys -- who have donated to the Democrat -- rings a little hollow now. He screws up a vote, then turns to litigation to remedy the problem. But all is not dark for Mr. Williams.
He's on the radio, he's taped some TV commercials, his campaign appears to have gotten its act together and, according to the word in local GOP circles, he's not going to sit back and take the attacks from Mr. Lucas and the Democrats.
Of course, if Mr. Williams in any way goes on the offensive, you can bet the ranch that Mr. Lucas will respond with some attacks of his own.
How did Mr. Cook put it? Brutal. That sounds about right.
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. His column appears Thursdays and Sundays. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort.
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