While it is unlikely that this year's vote will exceed that number (last season there were 16), the race is more wide open than ever.

At the previous election the Liberal vote had exceeded Bushby's vote by only a few hundred.

This is also the threshold that candidates' votes must exceed to claim an election expenses allowance from the State.

The constituency is overwhelmingly unionist, with the combined votes for nationalist parties rarely exceeding 10%.

If that were to occur, the Peronists would still take office if their total vote exceeded that of any opposition party, which is likely.

Disturbingly, the 287-to-141 vote in the House exceeded the number needed to override a presidential veto by two votes.

This vote exceeded two-thirds of the House.

The total vote exceeded that of 1924 by nearly 8,000,000.

Mr. Bush may need the votes of many Christian conservatives to meet or exceed the lofty expectations for a resounding victory here.

Some say that endorsement was important, as Bloomberg's votes on that line exceeded his margin of victory over Green.