HOWARD CALLS WIN `SWEETEST'

Ten days before the August primary election, longtime state Rep. Gene Copeland was discussing Democratic races as he sat in the lobby of the New Madrid airport waiting for St. Louis Mayor Vince Schoemehl to arrive for a political rally.

The New Madrid County Democratic Committee was holding a rally that evening where candidates they had endorsed would have an opportunity to speak at a barbecue in Conran.

Discussing the hotly contested race for senator in the 25th District, Copeland pointed out the New Madrid committee had endorsed Poplar Bluff businessman Louie Snider and had expressed confidence he would whip incumbent Sen. Jerry Howard of Dexter.

Redistricting took Ripley and Carter counties out of the district and Wayne and New Madrid counties were added. Since New Madrid was new territory for Howard, and with Snider expected to run strong in his home Butler County and in Wayne County, many believed New Madrid County was where the election would be decided.

Asked about Howard's chances, Copeland wasted no time with his reply: "He's gone. Trust me."

But as the Aug. 4 primary election returns poured in, Howard proved Copeland was no prophet.

Howard won the three-way primary with 48.2 percent of the vote, defeating Snider by a margin of nearly 2,500 votes. Bill Black of Malden finished a distant third.

In New Madrid County, Howard rolled up 52 percent of the vote to 40 percent for Snider and 8 percent for Black.

"It was the sweetest victory of all the campaigns I have been in because of the opposition I had from large political groups and people that were active politically in one way or another," said Howard.

Asked about the opposition from the New Madrid group, headed by Copeland and longtime party leader Hal Hunter, Howard quipped, "They apparently had a lot of defectors."

Howard said he had tried in December and earlier this year to get the New Madrid endorsement, but they would not give it to him. So Howard claims he simply took his campaign to the voters.

Howard said: "I don't think Snider reached out to voters like I did. It is extremely important to see as many voters as you can.

"I did not anticipate carrying New Madrid County, but we worked hard over there. We had some key people that did some things for us."

When Copeland announced New Madrid County's endorsement for Snider in June, Howard downplayed its impact.

"I would rather have the endorsement of the working man any day than a bunch of politicians," Howard said at the time. "I'm not going to twist arms for officeholders to endorse me. That's politics as usual and I'm not politics as usual. I'm just the opposite. That's one reason the machine did not endorse me - I'm not politics as usual."

Copeland, a 17-term legislator who is the senior member of the General Assembly, explained that his disdain for Howard went back to the last session when he said Howard "played games" with his water district bill designed to protect water used for irrigation.

Copeland, who had back surgery last spring and missed the last several weeks of the session, claims Howard attempted to get the bill amended to weaken it on the floor of the Senate.

The bill eventually passed the way Copeland wanted it, but he blames Howard for trying to alter it while he was away from the capitol.

"He thought I was laid up, but I wasn't dead," said Copeland. "That was the clincher for me."

Howard said Copeland's bill attempted to give New Madrid County control of the water district, a charge Copeland strongly denies.

Copeland also charged that Howard was not straightforward on the gas tax approved by legislators earlier this year to improve highways. "He voted for all the amendments to try and gut it, and then he voted for the bill," said the representative.

But Copeland and the New Madrid County organization were not Howard's only foes.

The Missouri Hospital Association and Missouri Chamber of Commerce both actively campaigned against him, and sought contributions from other lobbyists for Snider. The National Rifle Association, unhappy with Howard over his efforts in a committee on a bill that would have provided a way for some citizens to get permits to carry concealed weapons, sent two mailings to members in the district urging them to defeat Howard.

Howard said there are several reasons for his victory, including the work he has done since winning his Senate seat in a special election in December 1990 and staying in touch with people.

"Also, we tried to go to the voters. There were a lot of quiet voters who knew where they would be from the start in this race," said Howard.

"I think the media campaign was extremely important because of the message we had. We started the issue-part of our campaign about two to three weeks before Snider, and all he could do is pick up on the things we said."

Describing his message, Howard said it was "past service, future service, and the things I wanted to do for Southeast Missouri. I wanted to see quality of life in Southeast Missouri improved through jobs, do something about workers' compensation, welfare reform, funding for education, and I wanted to be in position to bring more money to Southeast Missouri by saving our seniority in the Senate."

The strong base provided by his home Stoddard County was also a factor, said Howard.

He said: "Overall, I could not have done it without the solid base in Stoddard County. In a lot of cases the campaign came down to whether Stoddard County would continue to be a leader in the Bootheel, and I think Stoddard County wanted to continue to play that role in Bootheel politics."

Howard got 68 percent of the votes cast in his home county.