But it has become customary in high-profile contests for candidates to do so; many elected officials always do.

Even the high-profile contests like the race for governor in California and the Senate race in New York have drawn relatively little attention.

A21 Florida's gubernatorial campaign has become a high-profile contest following the announcement by Lawton Chiles, the former Senator, that he was entering the race.

Although there are no high-profile contests this year, some races for the Board of Legislators are seen as competitive, and at least one has been contentious.

At the same time, North Carolina voters set up a high-profile contest for the Senate between Elizabeth Dole and President Bill Clinton's former chief of staff.

It reflects the fact that Mr. Gingrich's race was a high-profile contest and that his opponent, an entrepreneur, poured $2.4 million of his own money into it.

The second half of the 1920s was marked by high-profile architectural contests dominated by modernist architects.

The most high-profile contest was for the mayoral office.

But in high-profile contests, that template is less true each year.

Almost a year after completion, the building stands vacant, silent evidence of a string of marketing misjudgments, including a high-profile contest to rename the building.