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With their heated Missouri Senate campaign still tight, Gov. Mel Carnahan (D) and Sen. John Ashcroft (R) are both hoping to turn the race on education.

Each candidate is boosting his own legislative record while ripping the other for using bogus numbers to support claims. And both are making new education proposals the cornerstone of their bids. Carnahan touted Monday a $50 billion, ten-year plan he vows to push in the Senate, while Ashcroft unveiled a $200 million proposal on Tuesday that advocates sending education dollars directly to school districts.
• Carnahan, Ashcroft Slant Numbers to Their Benefit on Education
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/10/00)
• Ashcroft Announces $200 Billion Education Plan (Kansas City Star News, 10/11/00)
• Carnahan Proposes $50 Billion Plan to Boost Nation's Schools
(Kansas City Star News, 10/10/00)
• More Coverage: Mo. Senate Race

Minn. 4th District: Colleagues Mourn Vento's Death

Friends, associates and political leaders hailed Rep. Bruce Vento (D-Minn.), who succumbed Tuesday to an 8-month fight with lung cancer, as an unwavering public servant who "left his mark" on numerous legislative bills championing the environment, the working class, and the less fortunate. Vento cited his health problems when announcing earlier this year he would retire at the completion of his 12th term in January.
• Outpouring of Emotion for Rep. Bruce Vento (Star Tribune, 10/11/00)
• Vento Touched the Lives of Many People (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 10/11/00)
• Vento Remembered by Those He Never Forgot (Duluth News Tribune, 10/11/00)
• Bruce Vento Rememberd by Friends and Colleagues (Star Tribune, 10/11/00)
• Vento's Career (Star Tribune, 10/11/00)
• More Coverage: Minn. 4th District

Minnesota: Ventura Takes Back White House Tale

After two years as Minnesota's governor, Jesse Ventura still has a tough time remembering that the press will actually believe and report what he says. Trying to correct "inaccurate" stories, Ventura now contends he was just joking about drinking beer and gin and smoking cigars at the White House last week with President Clinton.
• Ventura: In White House, There Was No Beer (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 10/10/00)
• Ventura Chats It Up at the White House (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 10/7/00)
• Profile: Gov. Jesse Ventura

Ohio 17th District: Party Lines Mean Little to Traficant

As Democrats scramble to squeeze out their first House majority since 1993, the loyalty of Ohio Democratic Rep. James Traficant Jr. to Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert could thwart the party's hope of putting Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) in the speaker's chair.
• A Maverick's Odd Loyalty May Foil Democrats (The New York Times, 10/09/00)
• Profile: Rep. James Traficant Jr. (D-Ohio)
• More Coverage: Ohio 17th District

Mass. Senate: Dark Horses Take Symbolic Shot at Camelot

A small handful of candidates in Massachusetts are mounting quixotic quests to topple 38-year incumbent Sen. Edward Kennedy (D)—campaigns each hopeful acknowledges are longshots, but important in principle nonetheless.
• Hopefuls in Race to Push Alternatives (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 10/08/00)
• More Coverage: Mass. Senate Race

"I'm busting my hump." – Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), brother of Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush, answering crtics that he has not done enough to help his brother's unexpectedly difficult campaign effort in Florida.
• Jeb Bush: Working Hard for Brother
(Associated Press, 10/11/00)

Jason Thompson can be reached at jason.thompson@washingtonpost.com. Early Returns runs Monday-Thursday.