1.   During the summer she had a double-digit lead over her closest challenger, Robert Abrams.

2.   Fujimori was returned to office with more than three times the vote of his closest challenger.

3.   Her closest challenger had a kick, though, and she overtook Philpot at the end.

4.   Her closest challenger for the Democratic nomination is Joe Manchin III, a state senator, coal broker and construction contractor, who has strong backing from business.

5.   He won by playing more consistently and decisively than his two closest challengers, David Duval and Phil Mickelson.

6.   His tally was more than double that of his closest challenger in a field of four candidates.

7.   In a new national poll released Monday, Dole ran more than three times stronger than his closest challenger, Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas.

8.   Points eader Jeff Gordon and his closest challenger Ricky Rudd struggled all afternoon with ill-handling cars.

9.   Sun is now widely considered the best player in the world, with Tiffeny Milbrett of the New York Power perhaps the closest challenger.

10.   The closest challenger to Earthwinds is a Dutch balloon named the UNESCO Flyer, which was formerly called the Holland Flyer.