Louisville's Jews vote Democratic - but not because the candidate's Jewish

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - It is a short ritual that repeats itself in supermarkets, hair salons, in front yards, and on sidewalks. Hello, I'm John Yarmuth. I'm running for Congress, and I want your vote.

Yarmuth does not have much time, and neither do the voters. They pause a moment, stare at him, and then they remember. Hey, you're on TV! Yarmouth affirms it, then reminds them: Elections are on Tuesday. Get out and vote. Most of them, of course, will not come.

It's election time in Louisville, Kentucky's West End. The Democratic candidate is wearing out the sidewalks in this poverty-stricken African-American neighborhood. He is not alone. This can be an difficult place. He knows that the voters' time is limited, and there is no point in tiring them out with details. He has chosen the catchiest phrase he could find: If you like Bush, he tells every voter, don't vote for me. They smile, they understand. After all, it is impossible to imagine them liking President George W. Bush. I am the Democratic candidate, Yarmouth tells them, make no mistake. Now he only has to hope they will go to the polls.

John Yarmuth was last in Israel when he was about 15 years old. That was at the beginning of the '60s, he says apologetically. But his two brothers, he hastens to add, go there frequently. They are both active in AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee). Yarmuth also hopes to go to Israel soon, as a lawmaker.

And he may get there. The race for Kentucky's third district, the pollsters say, is very close. A few votes will decide it. That is no small thing for a candidate challenging quite a veteran incumbent, who is a rising star in her party - Anne Northup.

Last Thursday Yarmuth was canvasing house-by-house, knocking on doors, smiling a lot. He entered a corner hairdresser. Young African-Americans were seated in vinyl-covered swivel chairs with shampoo in their hair or had stylists working on their cuts. Some come every three or four days for a styling. Yarmuth, who has a nerdy side part, seems comfortable here, too, as well as in the nail salon where the smell of acetone threatens to choke visitors. The fact that he is Jewish, another Jewish candidate, neither adds nor detracts, he says. In any case, the district's small Jewish community, about 7,000-strong, votes Democratic. The others don't care either way. Most, Yarmuth supposes, are not aware of his religion, not that he tries to hide it. His CV states clearly that he was the director of a Jewish community center.

A Democratic activist told me this week he believed the number of Jews in Congress could reach 30, depending on how big is the Democratic win. Yarmuth is the perfect way to demonstrate this. A Democratic victory could put him into Congress, neither because nor despite his being Jewish.

His opponent, Anne Northup is tough. She has been in Congress since 1996 and even as a new lawmaker proved to have a natural talent and was sent to the prestigious Allocations Committee, the right place to garner more power. Northup did indeed manage to ensure generous funding for her district and is proud of it. That is the main plank in her campaign platform - if you want Louisville to flourish, you need Northup at the faucet from which the cash flows.

But Yarmuth also has something to say, especially against Bush. That is Northup's problem. If she had known that Bush would be so unpopular, perhaps she would not have voted the party line so loyally. But she did not know, and she did vote, time after time, like a Republican close to the White House. That is exactly what is behind Yarmuth's line - "Do you like Bush? Then don't vote for me."

After the tour of the poverty neighborhood, the candidate hurries off to a fund-raiser, and from there to a football game. "You came on a crazy day," his spokesman, Stuart Perlmutter says. To judge by the morning headline, he was not exaggerating. That evening there was to be an important game between the University of Louisville and West Virginia University. "The biggest game in the history of the University of Louisville," the headline announced. Yarmuth was there of course, and the streets emptied quickly so people could watch the game at home or at the stadium. A few hours' drive later, in Charleston, West Virginia, the results were in - a historic victory for Louisville.

The next morning, on the white board at Yarmuth's campaign headquarters, the words "four more days" were written, and tension peaked. The last poll gave Yarmuth an 8-percent lead, but the previous week, another poll showed his opponent ahead by 6 percent. The pundits say the race is a toss-up; but Yarmuth says he feels sure. And when the time came to say good-bye, his parting words were, "See you in Washington."