For Governor

TEXAS SHOOTOUT. Three-alarm chili and the gubernatorial race between Texas Republican Incumbent William Clements, 65, and State Attorney General Mark White, 42, have a lot in common. This heated contest is a referendum not on Ronald Reagan but on Bill Clements, whose blunt language and pro-business positions have antagonized many low-income voters. White, the underfunded underdog, began to edge up after three televised debates gave him an opportunity to put Clements on the defensive. White has attacked Clements' mudslinging leak of a driving-under-the-influence charge when White was a law student, and accused, the Governor of anti-consumer appointments to the public utility commission Clements has countered with charges that White is an incompetent attorney general. The Governor holds a slim but firm lead; it appears that only a huge Democratic turnout could topple the Lone Star State's leader.

CRUEL JOKES. To hear Richard

Celeste tell it, nine-term Ohio Republican Congressman Clarence ("Bud") Brown has a malady known as "the Washington perspective." In his bid to succeed retiring Governor James Rhodes, the 44-year-old Democrat, a Cleveland real estate developer and former Lieutenant Governor, has kept Brown on the defensive by casting him as the President's economic cheerleader.

The confident campaign of Celeste is one reason that G.O.P strategists are deeply concerned about the Governors' races in the recession-rent Midwest. Brown, 55, has tried to shift the focus in conservative Ohio to his opponent's liberal credentials.

He has even passed the unemployment hot potato. Says Brown: "It is the crudest kind of political joke. Celeste and the policies of the '70s have created those unemployment lines." Possibly, but the punch line is that Brown is trailing.

PERISH THE THOUGHT. Illinois, renowned for its unsmiling rough-and-tumble political campaigns, has been worth a few laughs this election season. Out of the blue, Democratic Gubernatorial Challenger Adlai E. Stevenson III, 52, has publicly denied being a "wimp," though no one, not even Republican Incumbent "Big Jim" Thompson, 46, ever accused him of being one. At the same time, Thompson, seeking an unprecedented third term, was hurt early on by Illinois' faltering farm and industrial economy, his overly ardent support of Reagan, and revelations that he had accepted valuable gifts from constituents and people doing business with the state. In recent weeks, however, he has bounced back, solidifying his support among both the Republican Party faithful and disaffected Democrats. Statewide polls put him 14 points ahead of Stevenson, a former two-term Senator who has never lost an election. Stevenson's poor campaign organization and professorial speaking style have cost him precious ground against the more punchy, aggressive Thompson.

"QUIET" CALIFORNIANS. Democrat Tom Bradley, 64, three-term mayor of Los Angeles and former Los Angeles police officer, uses an all-purpose campaign slogan that touts his two decades of municipal experience: "He doesn't make a lot of noise. He just gets a lot done." His conservative Republican rival, George Deukmejian, 54, could make the same claim, with 16 quiet years served in the state legislature prior to his present post as state attorney general. However, the noise level of the race has risen dramatically as the candidates have spent more and more time and money responding to each other's aggressive TV and radio commercials. Bradley, who is black, may have gained some wavering Democratic votes three weeks ago, when Deukmejian's campaign manager, who subsequently had to resign, volunteered that a hidden racism among California voters might belie the state polls showing Bradley with a clear lead. Should Bradley win, which he is favored to do, he will become the first black elected Governor in the nation's history.

MONEY MATTERS. The gubernatorial race between Democrat Mario Cuomo, 50, and Republican Lew Lehrman, 44, presents a clear-cut battle of ideologies and personal styles. Lieutenant Governor Cuomo, a traditional big-city liberal who pulled off a surprising win over New York City Mayor Ed Koch for the Democratic nomination, lives in a modest house in Queens and has strong appeal among his fellow Italian Americans, the state's biggest ethnic voting bloc. Cuomo is leading narrowly in all polls. By comparison, Political Novice Lew Lehrman, a wealthy Republican who transformed the family business into a discount-drug store empire, resides in a Fifth Avenue penthouse, spouts a political philosophy conservative to the letter, and is expected to spend upwards of $10 million pursuing the Governor's spot. Lehrman backs the death penalty, has accused Cuomo of being soft on crime, and campaigns on a program to bring "supplyside economics" to New York. Cuomo seeks to exploit Lehrman's image as an ideologue with no proven record in public service; his ads stress that as Lieutenant Governor, he has "experience money can't buy."

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