The House: In the Minority

Delta duel

Mississippi's Second District is nestled in the state's rich Delta region, an area famous for cotton and the blues. If Democratic State Representative Robert G. Clark triumphs over Republican Webb Franklin in November, the Delta may add a third item to its list of distinctions: Mississippi's first black Congressman since 1883.

Clark, 53, a furniture-store owner and operator of a small farm, is used to being a pioneer. When he won a state assembly seat in 1967, he was the first black Mississippi legislator in nearly a century; today the state has 17 black lawmakers. Clark is courting both races, and he claims, "No one has ever run a campaign before that has appealed across racial lines like I'm running it."

When Clark trounced three white opponents in the August primary, he captured 20% of the white vote. He will have to retain a good portion of that support in November. While the newly drawn Second District is the state's first predominantly black district since 1966--a result of Justice Department intervention when recent redistricting plans appeared to dilute black voting blocs--about 20% more whites than blacks are registered to vote. This disparity has black organizations scrambling to sign up an estimated 70,000 eligible but unregistered blacks in the district's 21 counties. Former Circuit Court Judge Franklin, 40, is a convert to the Republican Party. His turncoat status does not seem to bother the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is pouring $34,000 into his campaign. Franklin's total campaign budget of $225,000 is half again as fat as Clark's $150,000, but both candidates have strong party support. Former President Gerald Ford touted Franklin at a summer fund raiser; Mississippi's Democratic congressional delegation, including Senator John Stennis, held a reception for Clark in Washington.

The economy is the No. 1 concern in the Second District, where unemployment is approaching 15%. Mississippi is traditionally conservative but aid-hungry; the dichotomy forces both candidates to tread a careful middle course. Franklin says his stands are "pretty tightly aligned with the President's program," though he opposed Reagan's tax increase and concedes that benefits like food stamps are essential for the truly needy in Mississippi. "Maybe I'm different from most who call themselves Republicans around here," he says. "I'm a populist person, I guess." Clark rails against Reaganomics but supports a balanced budget, a strong defense and a vibrant private sector.

A recent poll that shows Clark ahead by almost 8 points could prove prophetic only if voter turnout is high. "The biggest obstacle will be people not going out to the polls," says Clark. His very candidacy proves that race is not the hurdle it used to be in Mississippi. Sums up David Jordan, president of the Greenwood Voter's League: "A good man has emerged who happens to be a black man."

Deep roots

Campaign workers for New Mexico's First District incumbent, Republican Manuel Lujan Jr., are fond of saying that he is "as New Mexican as green chili." They come honestly by the claim. Lujan boasts ancestors in the state as far back as A.D. 1540. But he is also an anomaly: a Republican Hispanic who has won seven terms in a district where Democrats have a 2-to-1 registration advantage.

So preordained were the outcomes of his previous House races that he never even bothered to announce his candidacy. But after an uncomfortably close call in 1980, Lujan, 54, is now stumping aggressively against State Treasurer Jan A. Hartke, 36, son of former Indiana Senator Vance Hartke.

Lujan's strength comes in part from a record of old-fashioned constituent service. "People know they can call me and get results," he says. Lujan has assigned seven of his 13 congressional staff members to chase down tardy Social Security checks and disentangle Government red tape. On the campaign trail, fueled by a breakfast of graham crackers and peanut butter, Lujan totes a briefcase crammed with "casework forms," on which he records complaints from constituents. He couples such efforts with well-aimed personal touches: birthday cards, sympathy notes and welcoming letters to district newcomers.

In New Mexico, roots are important, and Hartke, a resident since 1971, is seen by some as an interloper. Sniffs Lujan: "He's come here to make his political fortune." After serving as the state's chief public defender, Hartke won election as state treasurer in 1978. Though he has raised only $100,000, one-fourth of Lujan's total, he has doggedly campaigned door to door with his wife.

Hartke blasts Lujan for missing 1,000 congressional votes over the years, earning a substantial part of his $134,000 income last year from a family insurance firm, supporting Reagan's economic policies and defending Interior Secretary James Watt. Says Hartke: "Lujan represents the big corporations and the rich. He's forgotten about the people."

Prosperous Albuquerque makes up 96% of the newly drawn district, and Hispanics account for nearly 40% of the population. With Lujan ahead by 20 points in the polls, Hartke is wooing potential defectors, nourishing their disenchantment with Reaganomics. But his blond hair, blue eyes and meager knowledge of Spanish are decided liabilities in the ethnically rich neighborhoods. Against the popular Lujan, it may take more than occasionally saying "Necesito su voto" ("I need your vote") to triumph in November.

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