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WASHINGTON - As Sen. John Kerry narrows his list of possible running mates, it appears Florida Sen. Bob Graham is still a contender.
People familiar with the selection process say the leading candidates are Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and Graham. It appears Kerry has ruled out Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.
Graham has met with Kerry several times recently and has appeared with him at many Florida events. Graham also has provided documents to the Kerry campaign for the vetting process.
People close to Graham say that he has revealed little to them about how seriously he is being considered and that he may not know where he stands compared with the other candidates. Kerry campaign officials have been tight-lipped about the selection.
"Who the hell knows?" said Buddy Shorstein, a close adviser to Graham who saw him recently. "He certainly did not show any real emotion about it whatsoever. The senator was very poker-faced about it, as he has always been."
Graham is a veteran of the vice presidential guessing game, having been considered in 1988, 1992 and 2000.
The Kerry campaign is putting a lot of energy into winning Florida's 27 electoral votes, and many Democrats believe adding Graham to the ticket would help the Massachusetts senator in a key state. Polls point to a neck and neck race so far.
Graham has won five statewide races in Florida, though he faced few serious opponents. As a two-term governor he has executive experience, and as former chairman of the Intelligence Committee he has credibility in questioning President Bush's national security and counterterrorism efforts.
Shorstein said Graham would be a big help in Florida.
"I don't know that anybody delivers a state in these things," he said. "But he certainly is a positive. If it's dead-even, he could make the difference."
But the three-term senator ran what was widely seen as a lackluster presidential campaign and lacks the charisma that Edwards offers. Also, his sharp criticism of Bush during the presidential campaign might hurt Graham's appeal in his home state.
Shorstein said he has heard from moderate Republicans who were strong supporters of Graham's Senate and gubernatorial campaigns but were "very upset" by his criticism of Bush.
Still, Shorstein predicted that "time may cure that."
Graham recently finished writing a book, Intelligence Matters, to be published on Sept. 7 that is expected to strongly criticize the Bush administration. Graham said this week that it will contain new material that goes beyond his previous comments.
The timing of the book, just before the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, could provide a boost to the Kerry campaign.