Republicans Fund Nader As Decisive Electoral Weapon

Ralph Nader, the consumer champion who became the scourge of mainstream Democrats for his determination to run for president, is facing a concerted challenge to his candidacy in a series of battleground states.

With the deadline approaching for presidential hopefuls to get their name on the ballot for next November's elections, Mr Nader's candidacy has become the focus for a proxy war between Republicans and Democrats.

In his eagerness to get his name on the ballot, Mr Nader has accepted funds and help from some of President George Bush's most ardent supporters, who are all too willing to bankroll a politician who could tip the balance in a tight race against the Democratic challenger, John Kerry.

Meanwhile, Democratic activists have launched legal challenges in several states to keep Mr Nader out of the race come November.

Yesterday, the battle came to Pennsylvania where state Democrats were expected to file a legal challenge to Mr Nader's candidacy.

Democratic activists accuse the Nader campaign of falsifying thousands of names on petitions endorsing his candidacy in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, and of paying homeless people a dollar for each signature gathered.

"The bottom line for us is that we are partisan Democrats, and we are very much interested in getting John Kerry elected," said Michael Manzo, aide to a Democratic state legislator.

"We view Mr Nader's candidacy as a threat. Will it be a large threat? We hope not, but we are not willing to take any chances."

Similar scenarios are unfolding in other states, with Democrats fighting a concerted rearguard action to keep Mr Nader out of the presidential race.

In the battleground state of Arizona, he was knocked off the ballot on a technicality, and the party is raising funds for similar legal challenges in Florida, Michigan, West Virginia, and Nevada.

Mr Nader dismisses the challenges as a monumental display of insecurity. "It shows the lack of confidence Democrats have in their own candidate," he told Businessweek magazine.

However, among Mr Nader's new supporters this election season is the billionaire Richard Egan, who was appointed ambassador to Ireland after raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for President Bush.

Mr Egan, his son and daughter-in-law gave to Mr Nader this year, and campaign monitoring groups say other major Republican donors have contributed as well.

In Oregon, which is also poised for a tight contest, two conservative groups admitted to making telephone calls urging supporters to help put Mr Nader on the ticket.

But even with the new-found patrons, Mr Nader has made slow progress in his efforts to get on state ballots.

He missed a chance to get on the ballot in California at the weekend after supporters raised only half the 153,000 signatures required.

But Democrats say that that was Mr Nader's due when he decided to contest these elections, re-opening the blood feud on the American left when - Democrats say - Mr Nader drained off crucial support for Al Gore in the 2000 elections, handing Mr Bush his victory.

With memories of that defeat still rankling four years later, even some of Mr Nader's closest associates were outraged when he announced his candidacy earlier this year.

That anger grew further when Mr Nader rebuffed a request from Mr Kerry to stay out of the race for key battleground states.

That is when the Democratic machine stepped in, with Howard Dean, a hero to the party's left wing for his anti-war stance, deployed to ride herd on wayward Democrats.

One of Mr Dean's aides from his failed campaign for the Democratic leadership founded a website called The Nader Factor which documents Republican support and funds for the consumer champion.

Mr Nader is not expected to match the 2.8 million votes he wonlast time. But, amid indications that this will be an even closer election, some argue that hardly matters.

"He does not have to do anywhere near as well as he did in 2000 to have an impact," said John Zogby, the Democratic pollster. He says Mr Nader could hold the balance in several states - should he succeed in getting on the ballot.

But his candidacy has another challenge for the Democrats.

"He is the ghost of the left, he is the one who rallies the anti-war sentiment, and left Democratic populism, and so his presence in the race is kind of casting a shadow on Kerry," Mr Zogby said. "It's not going to be enough for him just not to be George Bush."