Fall roundup: Expect 082800.txt to see the same faces By Melanie Fonder For The News-Chronicle WASHINGTON - This fall's election for Wisconsinites promises to be decidedly duller than in 1998, when the state was one of the most closely contested and most observed in political circles. Not that any of the members of Congress from the Badger State really mind. The three freshman - Reps. Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, Mark Green, R-Green Bay, and Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison - have placed themselves far above the pack with ample funds. Ryan, as of the end of June had the most cash on hand, reporting $733,070. Baldwin and Green closely followed with $702,141 and $553,022 respectively. The three freshman have not wasted time in establishing themselves in Washington. Green, a first-generation American whose mother was born in South Africa and father in London, already has a lengthy legislative record, especially for a freshman. "I get restless if we're not actively pursuing something. The worst period was after I won and waiting before I was sworn in," Green said. A recent Green initiative to make "Section 8" funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development available to disabled individuals purchasing homes was endorsed by GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush in his "New Freedom Initiative." Green is facing former Bellevue Town Chairman and Brown County Sup. Dean Reich, who had $2,682 cash on hand at the end of June. Ryan, who formerly worked for Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, first as legislative director and then as chief of staff, came to Washington with plenty of friends. For Baldwin, the first open lesbian elected to Congress, her first term has been highly watched. "Even people that you would expect or predict might be very ideologically opposed have been very respectful, very welcoming," Baldwin said. "For the first year, I kept saying, 'I'm still on the honeymoon phase,' but it seems like I've been here long enough that I shouldn't be able to keep saying that." Baldwin recently spoke on health care - one of her longtime causes and a central election theme in 1998 - at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Of the three freshman, Baldwin could face the toughest race if the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) funnels money into second-tier races. Her GOP opponent, John Sharpless, is a longtime University of Wisconsin history professor who came in third in the 1998 primary but could take away some of Baldwin's university base. As of June, Sharpless had raised $277,354 and had $162,613 cash on hand. Financially, all the other members are far ahead of any of their opponents. Sophomore Rep. Tom Barrett, D-Milwaukee, faces Shorewood Republican Jonathan Smith with $644,777 cash on hand compared to Smith's $8,314. Similarly, sophomore Rep. Ron Kind, D-LaCrosse, faces Viroqua cafe owner Susan Tully, with $470,232 to her $4,582. Barrett, whose four children are 7, 5, 3 and 1, is apprehensive about the fall election for another reason. "I've run four times - every election year my wife has been pregnant - that's why I'm a nervous wreck," Barrett recently joked. Longer-serving Reps. Gerald Kleczka, D-Milwaukee, Tom Petri, R-Fond du Lac, James Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls and David Obey, D-Wausau are overwhelmingly ahead financially of their opponents. Of those four, Obey faces perhaps the toughest race, with former television weatherman Sean Cronin, who has high name recognition. Several fundraisers in the near future, including one Sept. 12 that Gov. Tommy Thompson scheduled to attend, should boost Cronin's war chest considerably. Multimillionaire Sen. Herb Kohl, who announced in June his intentions to run for re-election this fall, is considered very safe to win again. The state GOP has endorsed Rawhide Boys Ranch founder John Gillespie as his competitor. If the entire group returns in the fall, leaders-in-waiting are on both sides of the aisle no matter which party controls the House. Obey has long been waiting for his turn as Appropriations chairman, but that would only happen if Democrats take back the House. Sensenbrenner is next in line tochair the Judiciary Committee and Petri would take over the Education and the Workforce Committee if Republicans keep the House. The future political ambitions of the group remain high as many state lawmakers and pundits speculate if Thompson will run for a fifth term in 2002. Most members still laugh the suggestion off, but still hint that they are casually interested. "It's a great state and I think anyone in my position of public service would be foolish to claim they're not interested in being governor," Kind said. On the Republican side, several state lawmakers are likely to run, but on the Democratic side, much of the race depends on whether Kohl decides to seek the post. "I'm not going to stay here forever, obviously, I don't want to be a person that's here forever," Kohl said. "Whether I'd ever think about wanting to run for governor, why should I speculate until it comes time for me to think about it?" Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Middleton, who won re-election in 1998, will only say:"There are a lot of people interested in the job." Meanwhile Ryan, the second youngest House member only to Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., said his future will hold another career besides politics. "I don't want to be a career guy. I want to be here long enough to make a difference," Ryan said. "I'm 30 years old, I don't want to be doing this in 40 years. "Can you imagine that? I'd be a bear." This column by Fonder, a staff writer for The Hill, a Washington-based weekly that covers Congress, appears every Monday in the News-Chronicle. You can send her e-mail with comments at melfonder@yahoo.com.