By David J. Sanders

With the Democrat and Republican primaries only weeks away, it's time to gauge where some of the candidates stand. They are all busy racing around the state talking to anyone who will listen.

Let's start at the top, at least at the office where the candidates are fighting tooth and nail to be the man who next January will sit around with his fingers crossed and a black suit in the closet. I wish I had said that, but I didn't. It reflects the sense of humor of my friend Bill Vickery.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to be lieutenant governor: Low pay, small office and very little responsibility. Nonetheless, eight men have expressed more than a passing interest in the job.

The Democrats:

Bill Halter -The newest entrant in the LG's race has the luxury of a big bank account and plenty of goodwill for getting out of the governor's race, sparing Mike Beebe an exercise that would have depleted his campaign war chest. He also managed to pick up a high profile endorsement from Rodney Slater on Monday.

Mike Hathorn - I once pegged him as the favorite, but the shine has come off. His more recent public statements make him sound a little agitated. He seem ticked off by Halter's entry into the contest and a told crowd in Hope the other day that he could have won his 2001 Congressional race against Republican John Boozman "if it had not been for 9-11." I would like to hear his extended explanation about that.

Jay Martin - The North Little Rock representative hasn't had an extremely high profile. A strong north-of-the-river turnout is this nice guy's only chance of making a runoff.

Drew Pritt - I don't really know what to say about him. He is still around and still sending out press releases. I'm not sure he will go away even after the votes are tallied and he finishes at the bottom -- that is, if his name appears on the ballot.

Tim Wooldridge - Being from Northeast Arkansas, he has regional strength. He is a true conservative Democrat, but there are new questions about Wooldridge mixing politics with his not-for-profit foundation work. I'm not sure how that will play out.

The Republicans:

Chuck Banks - I have heard he is spending a lot of time in Northwest Arkansas reassuring suspect Republican primary voters that his deep-seated Reagan Republican roots are legit. He has a tough task ahead. Statewide GOP primaries are won and lost in Benton, Sebastian, and Washington Counties.

Banks will need to peel off enough voters from that region who are more concerned with winning in November than nominating a candidate who wants to concern himself with what's happening on the borders with Mexico.

Jim Holt - I underestimated him once in a Republican Primary. I won't do it again. He has about a 90 percent chance of winning the GOP nomination. If he is the Republican nominee, he has about a 99.99 percent chance of losing in the fall.

Doug Matayo - Like Jay Martin on the Democratic side, he is a nice guy, but he has no money to get out his message. One of Matayo's legislative comrades told me the other day that he had initially supported him, but had to pull back and support Banks because he wanted a chance to beat the Democrat in the fall. Word is that no matter the primary outcome, Matayo has his sights set on becoming the next chairman of the state Republican Party.

Tune in.

If you want to watch a well-educated, well-spoken, political pundit on television, Warwick Sabin will be on AETN this weekend, I'll be joining him. Our program, "Unconventional Wisdom," will air Friday at 6:30 p.m. and again at noon Sunday. This month's topic: Ethics in government.