1.   In the GOP nominating season that begins in Louisiana this week, every candidate needs supporters with passion.

2.   Iowa is the lead-off state in the presidential nominating season.

3.   Some states are always left behind in the nominating season, holding primaries or caucuses long after a candidate has locked up the nomination.

4.   The Republican National Committee voted on Thursday to make the presidential nominating season last until May by requiring big states to hold their primaries last.

5.   The Texas governor seemed to suggest as much after his victory in the Iowa caucuses Monday, opening night of the presidential nominating season.

6.   Polls have shown Gore -- who has issued his own package of farm proposals -- with an edge in the state where precinct caucuses launch the nominating season.

7.   Gore gave some of the credit for his second win of the nominating season to the strong economy.

8.   In some respects the next eight days are the most intense of the nominating season, as campaign entourages literally bump into one another.

9.   Meanwhile, a poll released Tuesday showed Gore and Bradley in a close race in Iowa, where precinct caucuses launch the presidential nominating season in January.

10.   Polls have shown Bradley within striking distance in Iowa, where precinct caucuses launch the nominating season early next year.