TARGET: NEWT

By David S. Jackson/San Francisco

STOCKBROKER JERRY ESTRUTH, WHO IS making his first bid for Congress, is not running against his opponent. Instead, his TV ads feature a photo of a scowling Newt Gingrich above a warning about the House Speaker's proposed cuts in Medicare and education. "Jerry Estruth for Congress," an announcer says. "Newt Gingrich hasn't heard of him...But he will." The ad makes no mention of Estruth's real foe, state senator Tom Campbell.

In the 1994 congressional elections, G.O.P. candidates won by running against Bill Clinton. This year the bogey man is the increasingly unpopular House Speaker. In the Nov. 7 Kentucky Governor's election, Democrat Paul Patton won largely by selling himself as a defender of the weak against Newt the serial program killer. Now in California's 15th congressional district Gingrich has become a target of opportunity for Democrats trying to win a special Dec. 12 election to replace resigned Democratic Representative Norman Mineta.

Though the district is traditionally Democratic, polls show Estruth, 52, trailing. One reason is that Campbell, 43, enjoys higher name recognition because of two terms as a Congressman in a nearby district. So Estruth is painting him as a Friend of Newt. Last week Estruth even offered Gingrich a round-trip plane ticket to California to campaign for Campbell. What Estruth doesn't say is that Campbell is a moderate whose positions on many issues are not much different from his own. "Fiscally I'm a pretty conservative guy," Estruth shrugs. "Socially I'm progressive.'' Likewise, Campbell is defiantly pro-choice and pro-environment.

Still, Campbell voted with Gingrich 76% of the time, which is why he's been trying to distance himself from the Speaker. When Gingrich made a brief visit in October to San Jose, California, Campbell wasn't there. "We weren't ducking him," insists Kevin Spillane, Campbell's campaign manager. "We had separate schedules."

--By David S. Jackson/San Francisco