POLITICAL BRIEFING

WEBSTER’S WOES: Missouri Atty. Gen. William L. Webster gained wide name recognition as the prosecutor in a landmark 1989 Supreme Court decision, Webster vs. Reproductive Services, that bolstered states’ authority to regulate abortions. But the conservative Republican’s gubernatorial campaign has foundered this fall--and abortion has had little to do with it. . . . Democratic Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan held a double-digit lead in a recent poll, in part because Webster has been plagued by allegations that he took large contributions from private lawyers retained by his office for state work. . . . Carnahan, meanwhile, has effectively mobilized abortion-rights supporters as campaign volunteers. “The abortion issue hasn’t really backfired on Webster,” says Charlie Hucker, director of a Missouri political action committee. “But it does give Democrats the advantage of targeting voters.”