Mr. O'Rourke is now considering - or, he said he hopes, is being considered for - a state judgeship.

During the 1990s, after retiring from the state legislature, Bullard ran unsuccessfully for a state judgeship.

The race is making Ohio a case study in an aggressive new judicial politics that is reshaping courts and drawing unprecedented political spending to campaigns for state judgeships nationwide.

Contests for important state judgeships around the country are getting nastier, more partisan and tons more expensive.

For most of his three terms, Governor Cuomo has seemed poised for a lunge at national office - or a run at a state judgeship.

In the spring of 1999, Donelon lost still another race to a fellow Republican for a state judgeship in Jefferson Parish.

The commission is also responsible for determining the qualifications of candidates who apply for state judgeship.

A decade after he became mayor, Randolph also ran unsuccessfully for a state judgeship.

All of the state judgeships in Rapides Parish are held by Democrats.

In addition, the Republicans expect to save $2 million by allowing 21 state judgeships to go unfilled next year.