The Framingham resident, who lost a 1980 bidfor a Congressional seat in Georgia, has alreadyraised $1.2 million through a direct-mailfundraising campaign which has attacked manyaspects of Kennedy's personal life.

One of Carter's fundraising letters last yearaccused Kennedy of having "killed Mary Jo Kopechneat Chappaquiddick" and of "skirtchasing andbooze-guzzling," according to reports by theState's News Service.

At the time, state Republican officials accusedCarter of running a negative campaign and of"siphoning off funds" from legitimate candidates,according to reports.

But to this day, Carter vehemently denies theaccusations, saying that Kennedy's private life isfair game and that it "impacts his ability tofunction in Washington."

"If elected, I will never have to apologize formy conduct," Carter adds.

Prior to his stint at the Department ofAgriculture, the 54-year-old Carter operated afamily owned agri-business and worked in thepersonnel department at Sears-Roebuck, Inc.

Similar Economic Views

Political reporters and Republican voters haveemphasized that the candidates' similar positionson economic issues will bring politicalpersonalities to the forefront in the Septemberprimary.

All of the candidates are committed to a policyof fiscal conservatism--reducing governmentspending and the federal debt.

"Quit taxing people and make the governmentstop spending so much," Carter says. "There aretwo ways to balance the budget: decrease spendingand get the economy growing."

Jeghelian says her primary objective as aSenator would be to eliminate unnecessarygovernment spending.

"Unless we do something about our debt, youngpeople are going to be paying for the sins of ourpast," she says.

Romney, who supports balancing the budget,criticizes Kennedy's vote against the BalancedBudget Amendment as an example of outdatedCongressional thinking.

"Kennedy represent out-of-control spending,"Romney says. "He refuses to be bound to spend onlywhat we earn."

The candidates also unanimously criticizeKennedy for supporting the creation of unnecessarygovernment agencies that hamper the development ofsmall businesses.