The Nation - News from Aug. 29, 1989

The campaign to replace the late Claude Pepper in Congress wound down with a poll by WSCV-TV in Miami showing a virtual dead heat between Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrat Gerald F. Richman. If she wins today’s special election to fill the 18th Congressional District seat held for 27 years by Pepper, Ros-Lehtinen, a state senator, would become the first Cuban-American voted into Congress. In the survey of 301 likely voters, Richman, a Miami Beach lawyer, received 47% of the vote, while Ros-Lehtinen had 45% and 8% were undecided. The poll carried a margin of error of 5 percentage points. Among black and Jewish voters, Richman’s support neared 80%. Among white non-Latino voters, he enjoyed a 2-1 edge. Ros-Lehtinen drew support from 86% of Latino voters.