Races, Ballot Items Around U.S. Tuesday

GOVERNORS

-- Mississippi: Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (search) was locked in a tight race with Haley Barbour (search), a top Washington lobbyist and former head of the Republican National Committee. State Sen. Barbara Blackmon lost a bid to become Mississippi's first black female lieutenant governor after losing to incumbent GOP Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck.

-- Kentucky: GOP Rep. Ernie Fletcher (search) easily defeated Democratic Attorney General Ben Chandler to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Paul Patton, becoming the first Republican to lead the state in 32 years. Former University of Kentucky basketball player Richie Farmer, a Republican, defeated Democrat Alice Baesler for agriculture commissioner in a matchup that touched on the state's deep passion for basketball.

-- Louisiana: A Nov. 15 runoff for governor will pit Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco against Bobby Jindal, a former health policy adviser in the Bush administration. GOP Gov. Mike Foster is term-limited.

LEGISLATIVE

-- New Jersey: Democrats gained control of both houses. The New Jersey Senate had been tied 20-20; Democrats narrowly controlled state House.

-- Virginia: Republicans held their majorities in the state Senate and House of Delegates. Mississippi also electing legislatures; Louisiana's legislative elections take place Nov. 15.

MAYORS

-- Philadelphia: Democratic Mayor John Street easily won re-election against Republican businessman Sam Katz in a rematch of their 1999 contest. Street's poll numbers rose after revelations the FBI bugged his office; investigators won't discuss the case but have interviewed people who received city contracts.

-- Houston: Bill White, an Energy Department deputy secretary in the Clinton administration, was ahead in a field of nine. He spent $2.2 million of his own money in the most expensive mayoral contest in the nation's fourth-largest city.

-- San Francisco: Entrepreneur Gavin Newsom had a wide lead in the polls in a crowded race to succeed longtime politician Willie Brown, who was term-limited. Newsom's successful 2002 ballot initiative to get panhandlers off city streets won him attention. A runoff is likely.

-- Hayden Lake, Idaho: Neo-Nazi Richard Butler ran for mayor of town of 9,000, three years after he lost his compound outside of town in a civil rights lawsuit.

-- Buffalo, N.Y.: City's longest-serving mayor, James Griffin, sought election to Common Council.

-- Charleston, S.C.: Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. won an unprecedented eighth term, defeating four challengers.

-- Akron, Ohio: The city's longest-serving mayor, Democrat Don Plusquellic, won a fifth term and voters rejected a separate proposal to add mayoral term limits.

-- Birmingham, Ala.: Democratic Mayor Bernard Kincaid was re-elected with the support from a former mayor whose administration he once called corrupt.

BALLOT QUESTIONS

GAMBLING

-- Maine: Rejected a $650 million gambling resort. Supporters said state's first casino would produce jobs; foes said it would tarnish Maine's outdoorsy image.

-- Indiana: Approved riverboat casino in French Lick, hometown of basketball great Larry Bird, a potential investor.

-- Colorado: Turned down proposal to allow slot machines at racetracks.

LIGHT RAIL:

-- Tucson, Ariz.: Emphatically rejected a proposal for a 13-mile light rail system. Houston and Kansas City, Mo., considering similar measures.

MISCELLANEOUS:

-- Denver: Rejected a measure requiring City Council to implement stress-reduction measures, a proposal championed by former Transcendental Meditation teacher but scoffed at by several council members.

-- Colorado: Considering $2 billion in bonds for water projects, a proposal that pitted arid, populous east against western ranchers.

-- Washington state: Vote on repeal of rules aimed at reducing repetitive-strain injuries in workplace.

-- San Francisco: Considering setting $8.50 minimum wage for virtually all workers.

-- Cleveland Heights: Measure to allow same-sex and unmarried heterosexual couples to register as domestic partners.

-- Richmond, Va.: Overwhelmingly approved a measure for direct elections of the mayor, rather than appointment by City Council.

-- New York City: Defeated measure to abolish primaries and have nonpartisan elections for mayor and certain other city posts.

-- Pennsylvania: Approved pair of amendments to the state Constitution designed to allow children to testify by closed-circuit television or videotape, already allowed in 35 other states.