41.   And George W. Bush, the Republican candidate, has said the United States will develop a far more ambitious defensive system if he is elected president.

42.   And he has made a virtue of rhetorical stridency, the very characteristic that throughout the Cold War era worked against Republican presidential candidates rather than for them.

43.   And early returns suggested it may prove true for US Reps. Peter Blute and Peter Torkildsen as well, and for Republican candidates for Congress in Massachusetts.

44.   And Conservative Party delegates met here, where they were to nominate Lazio, the Republican candidate, cementing their longtime alliance with Republicans.

45.   And conservative Republican candidates for president, most notably Patrick Buchanan, see involvement in international groups like the WTO as a surrender of national sovereignty.

46.   And although a large majority of black independents supported the Democratic candidate, one-fifth favored the Republican candidate.

47.   And he insisted he would not cede California as some previous Republican candidates had.

48.   And in a departure from tradition, Harold Stassen is not among the Republican candidates.

49.   And even many people who praised Seltzer were skeptical of her chances of defeating the Republican candidate, Felix J. Grucci Jr., supervisor of the town of Brookhaven.

50.   And he is stepping up his attentions to the leading Republican candidate, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas.