U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS HE SMOKED POT TWICE IN COLLEGE

SPRINGFIELD, IL: Add Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Rauschenberger
to the list of politicians who say they've tried marijuana.

The state senator from Elgin acknowledged Wednesday at a Statehouse news
conference that he twice smoked the illegal drug while he was a student at
the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

Rauschenberger says he didn't enjoy it and didn't do it again, but he does
think he inhaled.

"I was a cigarette smoker at the time," Rauschenberger said. "I'm certain I
had that reflex."

Rauschenberger announced Tuesday he is running for the U.S. Senate seat
being vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald next year.

Rauschenberger has served in the state Senate since 1993 and is the budget
negotiator for Republicans in that chamber.

He says his legislative experience makes him a strong candidate and any
mistakes he's made as a person - including a 1994 drunken driving conviction
- - shouldn't prevent him seeking the office.