MARCH MADNESS.

• Author: MANNING, STEVEN
• Position: Presidential primaries - Brief Article

Welcome to March madness. Not the annual NCAA college basketball championships, but a week of wild, politically charged, coast-to-coast election contests that will likely determine this year's Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.

From March 7 to March 14, voters in 26 states will choose among the final four top candidates: Texas Governor George W. Bush or U.S. Senator John McCain on the Republican side and Vice President A1 Gore or former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley on the Democratic side. On March 7 alone--a day of voting so colossal that candidates are calling it "Titanic Tuesday"--there will be primary contests in 12 states, including the crucial giants, New York and California. More than one third of the delegates to the parties' nominating conventions will be picked that day.

Never before have so many powerhouses held so many contests simultaneously. Rather than a traditional months-long primary season, voters are now faced with what is practically a national election. That means there may be more voters having real influence over who gets the Democratic and Republican nominations than there have been in many years. It also means that the candidates must run a gantlet of grueling competitions that will test both their mettle and their message.

For example, John McCain spent more than 70 days campaigning in New Hampshire, holding dozens of town meeting and shaking countless hands. That kind of personal approach Instead the candidates must rely on TV ads and interviews to get their points across. Also, the candidates to tailor their message to small, select groups of voters.

"You're dabbling in every region of the country," says Rhodes Cook. "So candidates have to show strength in every part of the country. It will be a much fairer test than in 1996, when only a few states had a say."

Unless you keep a satellite dish pointed at 26 different states, it will be impossible to keep up with all the contests. Here's what to look for:

Can McCain capitalize on his New Hampshire victory to make the Republican contest a real race? McCain's stunning upset in New Hampshire rocketed the Arizona Senator to nearly equal status with front-runner Bush. McCain's attacks on big-money interests in Washington and his call for campaign finance reform struck a nerve among voters. So did his personality and status as a former prisoner of war. The question is, can McCain carry his message to states where Republican voters don't usually favor...