The race - Republican Geoff Davis of Boone County, Democrat Nick Clooney of Augusta and independent candidate Mike Slider of Oldham County - has attracted attention from most major U.S. newspapers, People magazine, tabloid TV shows such as Inside Edition and even the British press.

The hook for most reporters is Clooney's son George, a famous Hollywood actor. But the race has evolved into a tight struggle between candidates of different ideologies and backgrounds.

Clooney has spent 40 years working in the media. He is well known and plays heavily on his Kentucky roots, having spent most of his life in Mason and Bracken counties.

During an Aug. 11 Kentucky Farm Bureau forum, Clooney told the audience that he was born and raised in Maysville "where my grandpa was the mayor," that he married a "Kentucky girl," that his two kids "graduated from Augusta High School" and that "everything I believe, I learned right here in the 4th District."

Clooney has staked out conservative positions on some ground, opposing abortion and backing gun-owner rights. But he also criticized President Bush on the handling of the war in Iraq and believes people making more than $200,000 a year should not receive federal tax cuts.

Davis, a former U.S. Army ranger who moved to Kentucky 15 years ago, takes the GOP line on nearly every issue. He backs Bush's handling of the war, has called for more tax cuts and has bashed Clooney ties to Hollywood, where much of the Democrat's money has originated. "Hollywood values aren't Kentucky values," Davis said.

While Clooney gets much of his out-of-state support from Hollywood, Davis has been benefiting from the Republican administration in Washington.

Top members of the Bush administration, including Vice President Dick Cheney, and key GOP congressional leaders have helped Davis' campaign raise money in the 24-county district, which stretches from near Louisville to the West Virginia line and includes all of Northern Kentucky.

Independent Michael Slider, a schoolteacher, is raising little money and has had difficulty reaching out to voters in the district. But he has been impressive in candidate forums in talking about how the political system has become divisive over party affiliations and labels. "You have to be labeled as a liberal, you have to be labeled as a conservative," he said. "And then you end up getting attacked by the other side. I don't know about you all, but I'm tired of watching everybody biting each other's heads off," he said.

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com