Kent. 01: Whitfield wins reelection

(AllPolitics, Nov. 5) -- Republican Rep. Edward Whitfield held off a frontal assault by organized labor to retain Kentucky's 1st District seat and defeat Democrat Dennis L. Null.

Whitfield emphasized his breaks with the GOP leadership, and like other Republicans, argued that he voted not to cut Medicare but to slow its rate of growth.

On Null's side, the AFL-CIO picked up the tab for a series of ads attacking Whitfield's positions on Medicare, education and pensions. Null opposes Clinton's tobacco regulation proposal, but it may have been a factor for some voters in this tobacco state.

Whitfield rode the 1994 Republican tide to unseat one-term Democratic Rep Tom Barlow in the traditionally Democratic district.