GILLESPIE WANTS TO FACE KOHL AGAIN

Senator Should Agree To Reschedule Canceled Meeting, Opponent Says

Madison - Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Gillespie asked incumbent
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) to agree to a third debate or joint appearance with
him, since Kohl could not attend one scheduled for Wednesday.

Kohl "can find one hour between now and Nov. 7 to meet us," Gillespie said
before his appearance at Madison's Downtown Rotary Club, one of the largest
clubs in the country.

Citing work in Washington, where Congress is struggling to pass a federal
budget, Kohl aides canceled his noon Wednesday appearance with Gillespie
before the Madison Rotary Club. It was to have been the third and final
joint appearance between Kohl, who is seeking a third Senate term, and
Gillespie, who retired in April as founder of the non-profit Rawhide Boys
Ranch in New London.

Gillespie urged groups such as the Racine NAACP and the statewide PTA that
had earlier invited both candidates for appearances to ask again, hoping
that Kohl would agree to a third joint appearance.

On Wednesday, the Republican challenger instead squared off with
Libertarian candidate Tim Peterson. The candidates agreed on several
issues, such as granting China permanent normal trade relations -
legislation that President Clinton signed into law Tuesday - and lifting
the trade embargo on Cuba. But they staked out very different positions on
the drug war and the dairy pricing system.

Gillespie took one of his few swipes at Kohl for not being able to reform
the system that sets milk prices according to how far a farm is from Eau
Claire.

Peterson said he favored scrapping the entire system and letting farmers
rely on a free-market system to set milk prices. He also said the drug war
had failed and argued that drugs should be legalized. Gillespie said he
opposed legalizing drugs.

In calling for a third joint appearance with Kohl, Gillespie said the event
should be "before a live audience," not in front of TV cameras. Having a
live audience "is a format we've not tried before," Gillespie said.

On Sept. 29, the two were questioned by radio and TV reporters for a
one-hour appearance taped and offered to members of the Wisconsin
Broadcasters Association. On Friday, the two were questioned by TV
journalists for about 25 minutes on the Wisconsin Public Television
newsmagazine "WeekEnd."

Kohl was in meetings Wednesday in Washington and was not available for comment.

But his campaign spokesman Jeff Gillis said he "did not see how" a third
joint appearance could be arranged before the Nov. 7 election. Congress may
still be in session next week, Gillis added. Juggling Kohl's time between
campaigning and Washington "is getting to be a logistical problem," Gillis
said.

Gillis said that Gillespie "had two debates on statewide TV" with Kohl and
that the Republican's campaign "hasn't said anything new in the last six
months."

"They really ought to spend more time campaigning and less time
complaining," Gillis said of the Gillespie campaign. "Their campaign is
dead in the water."

Kohl, 65, a millionaire Milwaukee businessman who owns the Milwaukee Bucks,
was first elected in 1988 and is on track to give his campaign about $5
million. The campaign of Gillespie, 63, is missing its fund-raising goals
and Gillespie trailed Kohl, 64% to 23%, in a mid-September statewide poll.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.