RISING DEMOCRATS

Evan Bayh GOVERNOR OF INDIANA

Given the impression that Clinton is trying to run on both the Democratic and Republican tickets this season, it was no surprise that he would invite Indiana Governor Evan Bayh to give the keynote address Tuesday night. Since taking office in 1989, Bayh has often had an easier time working with G.O.P. legislators than with his own Democratic allies as he set new records for fiscal stringency: no tax hikes in the 1990s and the biggest budget surplus in state history. A shining New Democrat, Bayh is expected to challenge Senator Dan Coats in 1998 for the seat Bayh's father held for three terms.

Edward Rendell MAYOR OF PHILADELPHIA

Rendell is the Rocky Balboa of American mayors. When he took office in 1992, the nation's fifth largest city was swimming in red ink and its credit was at junk-bond levels. But like his fictional Philly counterpart, this former D.A. came out swinging. He balanced the city's books by facing down municipal unions, privatizing jobs and saving money on everything from leases to insurance. Now he gives mayoral lessons: both Los Angeles' Richard Riordan and New York City's Rudolph Giuliani have got pointers. He still has headaches--people and jobs continue to flee the city. But he also has big-time fans--he's Clinton's "favorite mayor"--and a strong record to run for higher office on.

Mike Moore MISSISSIPPI ATTORNEY GENERAL

Like Dan Morales, Moore is one of the Davids wielding the slingshots against the tobacco Goliath. In 1994 he filed the first lawsuit by a state seeking to recoup the cost of health care for smoking-related illness. In spite of his professed wonderment that "little ole Mississippi" has taken the lead, it's fully in character for this aggressive and self-promoting prosecutor who got his start battling Gulf Coast corruption, and personally packed a gun to go on a drug raid. Moore, probably the most popular elected official in his state right now, is considering a run for Governor or Senator. Washington may call first, especially if Attorney General Janet Reno is a no-show in a second Clinton Administration.

Norm Rice MAYOR OF SEATTLE

For a guy who once flunked out of college, it's not a bad job being mayor of a city consistently listed as one of the best places in the U.S. to live. Rice, who went on to get a master's degree in public administration, was re-elected mayor in 1993 with 67% of the vote, and now he's running in the Democratic primary for Governor. He has won praise for crime prevention and restraints on spending growth. Comic Relief VII named him America's funniest mayor.

Gloria Molina LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR

For years, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors wielded a lot of power very quietly. Then Molina showed up. The eldest of 10 children of a day laborer, she was elected in 1991 from a newly created, Hispanic-majority district. On a five-member body that presides over 9.2 million people and a $12.1 billion budget, she is a high-intensity voice for immigrants, minorities, aids patients and the poor. As other liberals have joined her on the board and as she has polished her coalition-building skills, she is winning more battles. Supporters are touting her as the city's first Mexican-American mayor.

Max Cleland GEORGIA U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE

Politicians like talking about their war records, but Cleland's speaks for itself. A triple amputee in Vietnam, he was the youngest ever Administrator of Veterans Affairs. Back home, he became Georgia's Secretary of State and one of the state's top vote getters. His latest battle: helping his party keep Senator Sam Nunn's seat. If he wins--and polls show him ahead--credit his conservative stands on issues like gays in the military and a self-deprecating wit. ("I'm putting my best foot forward this fall, even if I have no feet.") He would be the first Southern Democrat since 1988 to take an open Senate seat.

H. Carl McCall NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER

Elected to his first full term as New York's fiscal watchdog in 1994, the year Republicans chased every other Democrat from statewide office, McCall became a hot prospect to challenge Governor George Pataki in '98. His resume is an American dream: one of six children raised by a single mother on welfare, he rose to a United Nations ambassadorship and a vice president's job at Citibank. Voters may also like his experience as a budget watcher.

Kathleen Connell CALIFORNIA CONTROLLER

Connell, another political cross-dresser and Governor-in-waiting, was not even registered as a Democrat until a year before she ran for office, and even now some party members call her a Republican in disguise. Within weeks of taking office she had begun pushing for the authority to conduct performance audits of every state agency to see if taxpayers' money is being spent wisely and usefully.

Armed with a Ph.D. from UCLA, Connell ran her own investment-banking firm before taking office. As a result, she calls herself the first state controller ever to have met a payroll and promotes the idea that she brings a businesslike--as opposed to partisan--approach to her job.

Patrick Kennedy RHODE ISLAND CONGRESSMAN

The recognition that comes with the Kennedy name can be a mixed blessing, especially when you carry it as the younger son of Senator Ted Kennedy, liberalism's weathered load bearer. First elected in '94, Patrick arrived in a G.O.P.-run House that gave him few opportunities to make any other name for himself. But party seers give the youngest member of the 104th Congress a shot in 2000 at the seat of Senator John Chafee. Strengths: political connections, deep pockets and a gift for old-time ethnic politicking. Weaknesses: a bout in drug rehab and his cameo at an Easter weekend in 1991 that ended in a rape charge against cousin William Kennedy Smith.

Dan Morales TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL

Like ambitious attorneys general in 14 other states, Morales has targeted the cigarette makers. His weapon: a $4 billion federal lawsuit seeking compensation for Medicaid payments for smoking-related illnesses. Critics say he's trying to deflect criticism for gutting his consumer-protection division; it pursued utilities, insurance companies and hospitals, which have more clout in his state than tobacco. Admirers say Morales, the second Hispanic elected to statewide office, won't be pigeonholed as liberal or conservative. Trickiest challenge: finding safe ground on affirmative action, which his office can defend or oppose.