Political Notes: Most Spectacular Comeback of the Campaign

In Texas, Democrats campaigned hard for the re-election of State Senator John Wilson, even though the 43-year-old legislator died of lung cancer nearly two months ago. Wilson's Republican opponent, J. Everett Ware, did not slack off either. "Being that there was a dead man on the ballot, I felt obliged to make a serious campaign," he said. Since Wilson had died 24 hours past the deadline to change the ballot, Democratic officials had to support his posthumous candidacy with the hope of winning so they would have a chance to retain the seat in the subsequent special election. In fact, Wilson fared better than most pols last week: he was re-elected easily, with 66% of the vote. The loser, however, was philosophical about his loss. "I've heard of elections where dead people voted," Ware said wryly, "but this is the first one I can remember where one got elected."