31.   Some right-wing Republicans, seeking a sure winner, favor Powell.

32.   Some sure winners have fallen out of the race in the waning laps.

33.   That is why the only sure winner from any oil bonanza in Kazakhstan is Russia.

34.   The environmental business is changing, converting what were once seen as sure winners into clunkers.

35.   The investment looked like a sure winner.

36.   The last two cards McNair flipped over on the table for the NFL expansion committee looked like sure winners.

37.   The other was the fact that Ike looked like a sure winner against the Democrats, and the stodgy Taft did not.

38.   The Republican incumbent in that race, Rudolph Giuliani, was also seen as a sure winner.

39.   The ugly truth, no matter what the lawyers say, is that the voting technology is simply not precise enough to determine a sure winner.

40.   They also said there was no evidence that Pataki could help Bush carry New York state, which is considered nearly a sure winner for Vice President Al Gore.