Democrats hope to divide G.O.P. over stem cells

COLUMBIA, Mo., April 19 -- Democrats are pressing their support for embryonic stem cell research in Congressional races around the country, seeking to move back to center stage an issue they believe resonates with voters and to exploit a division between conservatives who oppose the science and other Republicans more open to it.

The question of whether the government should support or limit stem cell research has cropped up in Senate races in Maryland and Missouri, and in House races in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin, especially in suburban swing districts.

"What Democrats want to do is gin up their turnout in the suburbs and divide Republicans, and right now they may do that," said Jennifer E. Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "This is the first real wedge issue Democrats have had with Republicans."

The topic may not have the power of those frequently used by Republicans to rally their conservative base, like same-sex marriage and abortion. But it could help Democrats win voters who are pinning their hopes on the science for treatments and cures.

It may also influence voter turnout in some races, including here in Missouri, where a proposed constitutional amendment to protect stem cell research is making front-page news, and the incumbent Republican senator, Jim Talent, is facing a tough re-election challenge from the state auditor, Claire McCaskill, a Democrat.

On Tuesday, Ms. McCaskill appeared in the central Missouri town of Fayette, population 2,793, for a wine-and-cheese reception at an antiques shop and, later, for a dinner of roast beef and potatoes in the brightly lit social hall of St. Joseph's, a Roman Catholic church. A Catholic church is hardly the kind of place where most politicians would talk up embryonic stem cell studies -- church leaders are fiercely opposed -- but Ms. McCaskill did just that.

"There are people of principle who disagree with this form of research," Ms. McCaskill told her audience. "I respect their principles. But what I don't respect is someone dancing around science for political cover."

It was a pointed barb at Mr. Talent, a first-term Republican who has publicly wrestled with the stem cell issue and has avoided taking a stand on the proposed amendment. The initiative, destined for the November ballot if supporters gather enough signatures, is intended to beat back efforts to ban the research in Missouri. It would permit stem cell studies as long as they remain legal under federal law.

With the Talent-McCaskill race too close to call, the initiative has thrust Mr. Talent into a treacherous Republican crosscurrent. On one side are Christian conservatives, who gave Mr. Talent their strong support when he ran for office in 2002 and are threatening not to vote unless he takes a stand on the amendment.

On the other are business-minded Republicans, like Gov. Matt Blunt and John C. Danforth, a former United States senator, who back the initiative, saying the science holds promise not only for patients, but also for the economic health of the state.

Mr. Danforth, an Episcopal minister, and his brother, William, the chancellor emeritus of Washington University in St. Louis, have taken a prominent role in promoting the amendment.

"It's a hard issue for him," Mr. Danforth said, referring to Mr. Talent.

Although scientists see hope in embryonic stem cell research for treatments and cures, opponents view the studies as immoral because the cells are extracted from human embryos. Research can be conducted freely with private money, but whether the government should pay for it has been a vexing question for Republicans.

•	Democrats hope to divide G.O.P. over stem cells The New York Times, Monday, April 24, 2006 Byline: Sheryl Gay Stolberg

	Story also ran in 1 others:  Haber Saglik (Turkey)