CAPE GIRARDEAU DOCTOR DROPS OUT OF CONGRESSIONAL RACE

Dr. C. John Ritter has withdrawn as a Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson.

The 58-year-old Cape Girardeau doctor said Republican Party people had pressured him to resign, but he didn't name anyone.

Ritter withdrew in a notarized letter received Monday by the Missouri secretary of state's office.

Ritter is the second candidate to drop out of the race and the first Republican; Sandy Allison, a Democratic national committeewoman from Rolla, earlier had abandoned her candidacy.

Ritter said Tuesday he may file again in two years.

He said individuals in the party told him he wouldn't get any Republican Party support in any subsequent election if he continued to challenge Republican Emerson in this year's race.

Ritter said the pressure was a factor in his decision.

"In the last couple of weeks I felt a lot of pressure and I was uneasy about it," he said. "This was a difficult decision because I was gaining some grassroots support."

No one from Emerson's staff asked him to resign, Ritter said.

Lloyd Smith, Emerson's chief of staff, visited with Ritter after Ritter filed in late March, only days before the filing period ended.

"We did talk about politics in general in the 8th District," Smith said. But he said he never asked Ritter to pull out of the race.

Emerson represents the 8th District of southeast and east-central Missouri.

Dr. Melvin Kasten, Republican Party chairman for Cape Girardeau County, said he didn't ask Ritter to withdraw. "I had heard that others had," Kasten said.

But Kasten and other Republicans said Ritter's entry into the race had left the impression that Emerson was losing his battle against lung cancer.

People assumed that since the Cape Girardeau internist had entered the race, he must know something about Emerson's health, Kasten said.

He said Ritter's withdrawal might help convince people that Emerson's health has improved.

He said doctors successfully treat lung cancer all the time. "Just because you have it, doesn't mean you are dead," Kasten said.

Smith said his boss is doing well. "He is feeling great."

Emerson's battle with cancer forced aides to push him about the capitol complex in Washington in a wheelchair at one point.

The eight-term congressman has undergone alternating radiation and chemotherapy treatments since being diagnosed with cancer last November. He recently completed a series of radiation treatments and will return to his district for fund-raising events this weekend in Rolla and Cape Girardeau.

This will be Emerson's first return to the district since February.

Ritter said Emerson's health was never an issue with him.

"I thought it was the right time for me," said Ritter, adding that he had considered running for Congress for years.

He said he wanted to get his name before the public with a view toward possibly running again in two years.

Ritter said a congressional seat would have given him a power base to promote community solutions to problems.

He suggested summer camps to help turn youth away from drug and alcohol additions. He talked of businesses adopting parks.

Ritter said money was a factor in his decision to drop out. He said he couldn't begin to compete with Emerson's war chest.

Emerson spent about $400,000 in his 1994 re-election campaign and already has $245,000 amassed for this year's campaign.

"We have never had that much money in this stage of the campaign," said Smith.

It costs money to campaign in the largest congressional district in geographical size in Missouri, Smith said.

At 19,000 square miles, the district of 569,000 people is larger than the country of Switzerland.

Smith said Ritter's withdrawal won't cause any significant changes in Emerson's campaign plans. Emerson still faces a primary contest with two Republican challengers: Richard Kline of Gipsy and E. Earl Durnell of Cabool.

Emily Firebaugh of Farmington, Gene Curtis of Matthews and perennial candidate Thad Bullock of Cape Girardeau are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Greg Tlapek of Cape Girardeau is running for the congressional seat as a Libertarian.