They campaign, in person and on television, in the states where they think they lead or trail narrowly.

As of 11 p.m., the mayor was narrowly trailing Ms. Cruz-Perez, and the two were headed for a runoff, the Camden city clerk said.

The 1.7 percent increase - which narrowly trailed a rise of nearly 18,000 students last year - bumped the total number of students in the city's schools to 973,263.

But his opponent, former Mayor Frank L. Rizzo, who was trailing narrowly, refused to concede defeat until the vote is officially certified later this week.

He narrowly trails his Republican rival, Gov. George W. Bush, in Missouri polls and has for months.

He ran as an independent candidate and secured a seat for himself with 25.8% of the total votes, narrowly trailing the Estonian Centre Party.

Team Red won with 7 points, Team Blue narrowly trailing with 6 points.

The July trade surplus was the second-largest monthly surplus ever for China, narrowly trailing a surplus of $11.1 billion last December.

China has become the company's fourth-largest market, narrowly trailing Japan, but still well behind the United States and Britain, Mr. Robertson said.

Kelly's $45,200 performance narrowly trails Maria Wenglinsky, who won $46,600 on November 1, 2005.