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Political analysts believe that Alabama's Republican Governor Fob James is the most vulnerable of all sitting governors up for reelection this year. He came close to being knocked out in the primary, and emerged bruised, only to be confronted with a well-funded, experienced opponent in Democratic Lieutenant Governor Don Siegelman.

As a politician who has made a name for himself by coming from behind to win, James cannot be written off. But he is the underdog here, and Democrats are hoping Siegelman can capitalize on it.

James was elected in 1994 by only 10,757 votes. He could expect a serious challenge for reelection this year, but he did not expect it from within his own party. James' conservative stands on hot button social issues alienated many in the moderate wing of the GOP. Critics believed that he was standing up for school prayer more than he was standing up for schools.

When Winton Blount decided to challenge James in the primary, Republican moderates and business leades lined up behind him. Blount carried enough of the vote to force a run-off. It was an exceptionally nasty and bitter race, and by the end, the candidates were hurling personal insults at each other. Although James won in the June 30 run-off by a decisive margin, he was deflated and broke.

Siegelman faced only minor opposition in the Democratic primary. He capitalized on the Republicans' disarray, and used the time to quietly build a war chest. Siegelman used the summer months to travel around the state, and he went on the air well before Labor Day with ads promoting his plan for an Alabama lottery to fund education scholarships.

The education lottery, modeled after a successful program in Georgia, has become the defining issue of this contest. Siegelman estimates that the lottery would raise $150 million annually for state education programs. James is opposed to the lottery. He believes it would open up the state to casinos and has called it "a gamble on a gamble and "tax by deceit."

Lacking money in the bank and claiming voters were tired of politics, James did not respond to Siegelman's television campaign until well into September. The Birmingham News reported that Siegelman spent nearly $1 million just in the Birmingham market between July and late October. James has spent less than $300,000 in the same market.

He launched an ad offering his own Alabama Scholar plan which would provide scholarships without gambling money. The James campaign's most notable ads are a series which label Siegelman a liar and show him with a Pinocchio nose. Each begins with a slate that says Lie #7" or "Lie #12." One of them includes footage of a cockfight, implying that if the lottery passes, cockfighting will be next.

The final candidate debate was not as colorful as the verbal jousting between James and Blount during the primary, but Siegelman ratcheted up the rhetoric when he blasted James' appointments to the state parole board.

"I want to talk about his parole board that has released rapists and sodomists who prey on our children," Siegelman said. His guests in the audience included the family of two homicide victims killed by a man released after serving 15 years of a 99-year sentence. James responded by accusing Siegelman of distorting the facts.

Siegelman has held a steady lead in the polls since June, and he has a huge advantage in funds. Going into the final six weeks of the campaign, he had more than $3 million in the bank -- 10 times the amount James had.

What the polls and bank accounts can't measure is the intensity of voters, and the Christian right is typically one of the most energized voting blocs. The odds would favor Siegelman, but don't forget that James has beaten the odds before.