“Outscore you how?” Jake asked. “What issues is he going to run on? I haven’t heard anything from him except the old ‘vote for experience’ line.”

“It’s been a strong enough line for him for the past eighteen years,” the elder Tomlinson pointed out.

“Leeds hasn’t had to say much, so far,” Amy explained. “He wasn’t challenged in his party’s primary, so he could just keep his mouth shut and wait.”

“And hand out patronage,” said Tomlinson’s father.

“Pork,” Jake said.

Easing back onto the couch, Tomlinson said, “Jake’s raised an important question: What issues will Leeds push? We’ve got to be ready for him, whichever way he goes.”

“Who’s backing him?” Rogers asked.

Amy went to the couch and sat beside Tomlinson. His father gave the two of them a look that was somewhere between disapproval and disgust. Jake felt much the same way.

Turning to Rogers, the elder Tomlinson put his glass down on the serving cart and ticked off on his fingers, “Leeds is in bed with the unions, including the teachers’ union. He’s always had great support from the state’s construction industry. And the car dealers; they think he saved them when GM and Chrysler needed bailouts. He’s in solidly with the political structure, down to the ward levels.”

“And the gaming industry,” Amy added.

“The casinos,” said Rogers.

“The guys from Vegas,” Jake added. “They can play rough when they want to.”

Tomlinson Senior h’mphed. “You watch too many TV shows, young man.”

Jake fought back the response that flashed in his mind, about three murders and the threats he’d received. No, he told himself. They’ll just think I’m going off the deep end. Not unless I’ve got proof. I’ll just look like a scared idiot unless I can show them some proof.

“So what issues will Leeds run on?” Tomlinson asked again.

“Construction jobs,” his father replied immediately. “More highway construction.”

“And more graft for the construction companies,” said Tomlinson.

“Education reform,” Amy said. “Leeds has been in bed with the education bureaucracy for years.”

Rogers shook his head. “It’s a crock. They don’t reform anything—except maybe lower standards so they can claim more kids are getting better grades.”

“There’s a lot of votes among those teachers and school administrators,” Amy said. “Plus the parents who think their children are doing better in school.”

The elder Tomlinson pointed a bony finger at his son. “Don’t you go out and criticize the school system! They’ll crucify you!”

“But Bob is right, Dad. All this folderol about reform is just so much bullshit.”

“Keep out of it!”

Jake said, “I’d like to see a positive campaign, for once. You can use MHD as an example of what you intend to do: push for new ideas, new ways to inspire smart students to get into science and engineering.”