OS ANGELES - Mike Taylor, a US House candidate from North Carolina, recently opened a fancy letter inviting him to dinner at Spago's, one of the most sought-after restaurants during the Democratic National Convention. But Taylor's wife was not impressed.
''She said, `Honey, you need to be down campaigning with the good people of Frog Pond,''' Taylor recalled. So he is skipping this week's convention in favor of campaigning at home, and he is not alone.
Democratic officials said most of their top House prospects have decided to bypass Los Angeles. The reasons vary, but some Democrats clearly find it beneficial to keep their distance from the glitz of Hollywood - and in some cases from President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore as well.
''It has partly to do with my own disappointment,'' said Linda Chapin, a top House candidate from Florida, referring to Clinton's affair with former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky. ''This could have been the most triumphant moment for the Democratic Party in 100 years, and instead it is marred, and many of us who had such hopes can't help but be disappointed by that.''
Chapin, like other Democratic House candidates interviewed for this story, stressed that she fully supports Gore and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman as the presidential and vice presidential candidates. Clinton, however, is another matter, especially in some moderate and conservative-leaning districts.
While Gore has had trouble separating himself from Clinton in the public's mind, candidates such as Chapin find it to their advantage to present themselves as independent. Chapin, for example, finds it more important to appeal to Republicans and Democrats at home than to spend the week at the convention. She said she would not invite Clinton to campaign for her in Orlando, although she would welcome Gore and Lieberman.
While many House candidates are absent here, their races are at the top of the party's agenda. The Democrats need to pick up six seats to regain control of the House. Democrats also hope to take back the Senate, but the prospects there are considered more difficult.
Charles Cook of the Cook Political Report, which tracks congressional races, said this will be one of the tightest elections for control of the House that he can remember. The main reason is that so few seats are really in play.
All 435 House seats are up in November, but that includes 401 members running for reelection, and at least 97 percent of the incumbents are expected to win, Cook said. There are 34 open seats, in which an incumbent has retired, lost a primary, or is running for higher office. Thus, out of the 435 races, about 20 are ''hotly contested'' and another 20 are ''competitive,'' according to Cook. In most years, there are three times as many competitive races, but the strong economy has led to a general satisfaction with incumbents this year, he said. Cook recently rated the odds of a Democratic takeover of the House as too close to call.
With so few House races in play, the two major political parties have pumped extraordinary resources into a handful of contests, and the candidates have weighed every move carefully. The National Republican Congressional Committee has raised more than $92 million, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has raised $60 million.
Thus, for all the hoopla surrounding this week's convention - the 4,368 delegates, the 15,000 members of the media, the seemingly endless round of parties - the event is not necessarily a plus for Democrats in tight races.
Even Mike Ross of Arkansas, another top Democratic prospect, said it wasn't worthwhile going to Los Angeles, even though he could have highlighted his ties to Clinton. Ross, like the president, comes from ''a place called Hope'' - Hope, Ark. But Ross, speaking by cellular phone while driving across the sprawling district he hopes to represent, said he didn't have time to attend.
''I've got 84 days to meet 600,000 people in 26 counties,'' Ross said. ''The voters are here, not in LA.''
Still, Representative Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said House candidates must run with the Gore-Lieberman agenda in order to win.
''There is no separating yourself from the nominee and the message of our standard-bearer,'' Kennedy said. ''Al Gore is the messenger for the Democratic Party now. There is no way around it; we are all in it together.''
Moreover, candidates have good reason to come here, Kennedy said. ''You have donors from all over the country, and it is a great opportunity to network.''
He noted that Pennsylvania candidate Patrick Casey is addressing the convention. But there is some irony in that. Casey's father, the late Governor Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, was famously denied a chance to address the 1992 convention because he opposed abortion rights. Tonight, Patrick Casey is scheduled to appear before the convention to introduce a video tribute to his father.
As for House candidates who prefer to stay away, Kennedy said he respects their decision.
''They know their districts best,'' Kennedy said. ''I find myself supporting people who are diametrically opposed to me on the issues, and I still support them because they will be the vote for ... the new majority.''
For candidates such as Taylor in North Carolina, there's no place like home. So instead of enjoying the cuisine of Wolfgang Puck at Spago's and networking with donors, Taylor is dining at Witley's Luncheonette in Albemarle, N.C., and campaigning in towns such as Big Lick and Frog Pond, instead of hobnobbing in Beverly Hills.
As for the convention, Taylor said: ''I don't pick up that people are watching.''
