Tip Sheet for the Week of September 9 - 13

This is a partial transcript from The Beltway Boys, September 7, that has been edited for clarity. Click here to order the complete transcript.

Watch The Beltway Boys Saturday at 6 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1 and 6 a.m. ET

FRED BARNES, CO-HOST: This week's Tip Sheet features our picks for next week's five hottest primary races coming up this Tuesday, September 10.

Get out your crystal ball, Mort, and I'm not going to let you wiggle out of a prediction...

MORT KONDRACKE, CO-HOST: All right, all right, OK.

BARNES: ... in any one of these five things.

KONDRACKE: Right, OK, yes.

BARNES: All right. Race number one, Florida's Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls go head to head. Can Janet Reno stave off a last- minute challenge from Bill McBride?

KONDRACKE: Well, Florida Democrats are going to be more strategic than California Republicans were in picking their — their nominee. It'll be McBride, who's got a better chance of beating Jeb Bush.

BARNES: Yes, how good a chance? I agree with you about McBride.

KONDRACKE: Yes, well, he's going to win, about 3 points.

BARNES: No, no, McBride beating Jeb Bush.

KONDRACKE: Oh, well, I think, you know, that's a — that's an evenly divided state, and there are a lot of issues. I think...

BARNES: OK.

KONDRACKE: ... McBride's going to be strong.

BARNES: Race number two, two Republicans are battling it out for the Senate in New Hampshire. Republican Congressman John Sununu is trying to unseat incumbent Bob Smith.

KONDRACKE: Sununu's ahead, and I think, again, New Hampshire Republicans are going to be more strategic than, than California Republicans and will nominate Sununu, who's the stronger candidate against Jeanne Shaheen, the governor who's running for the, for the Senate for the Democrats.

BARNES: Yes, I agree, well said.

Race number three, nine Democrats are vying for the Senate seat vacated by Jesse Helms, but the real battle is between former Clinton chief of staff Erskine Bowles, State Representative Dan Blue and North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

KONDRACKE: Well, Blue and Marshall are both trying to tie Erskine Bowles to corporate scandals...

BARNES: Yes.

KONDRACKE: ... but there's one thing about being a corporate board member and so on, that means you're rich.

BARNES: Yes.

KONDRACKE: That means you got money. That means you can spend your money, and he's got a lot more of it. He's going to be the nominee.

BARNES: Yes, they have none, so...

KONDRACKE: Right.

BARNES: ... I agree, Erskine Bowles.

Race number four, four Democratic candidates are duking it out in Maryland's Eighth District, well known as the place where Mort used to live. Is Maryland ready for another Kennedy? Who would the Kennedy be?

KONDRACKE: Mark Shriver, the, the daughter of...

BARNES: Son.

KONDRACKE: ... son of — son — sorry, son of Eunice Shriver, who's...

BARNES: Yes.

KONDRACKE: ... Eunice Kennedy...

BARNES: Kennedy's sister, yes.

KONDRACKE: ... exactly. He's running gazillions of ads, but Chris Van Hollen is the favorite of the, the Democratic establishment, and I think Van Hollen will, will squeak it out.

BARNES: Yes, the best candidate is Ira Shapiro, who doesn't have much money. I think Shriver wins. OK.

Race number five, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams tries the write-in route for reelection. For heaven's sakes, why is he running a write-in campaign?  He's the incumbent.

KONDRACKE: Because the people that he picked to, to get his ballot petitions … signed up lots of people who were dead or fraudulent or something like that, and the board of elections, you know, said, kicked him off the ballot, so he's got to run a write-in candidate.

BARNES: Yes?

KONDRACKE: I hope that people in D.C. know how to spell "Williams"...

BARNES: Yes, yes.

KONDRACKE: ... and draw arrows in the right place...

BARNES: Right, yes.

KONDRACKE: ... in order — I think they will.

BARNES: OK.

KONDRACKE: I think Williams will be the nominee.

BARNES: All right. I wasn't going to let you wiggle out of that.

KONDRACKE: Yeah, OK.

Click here to order the complete transcript.

Copy: Content and Programming Copyright 2002 Fox News Network, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2002 eMediaMillWorks, Inc. (f/k/a Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon Fox News Network, Inc.'s and eMediaMillWorks, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.