At times, Mr. Yassky's campaign stumbled in its efforts to reach out to black voters.

Mr. Babbitt's campaign stumbled last summer, as other candidates were getting their moments in the sun.

Over the summer, Obama's campaign stumbled, and the Illinois senator even fell behind McCain for a short while in September.

Mr. Stokes, 49, finished second after several campaign stumbles, including an erroneous claim of a college degree and an income tax lien he had once settled.

Since then, however, Ms. Boxer's campaign stumbled with the disclosure that she had overdrawn her checking account at the House bank.

Her campaign for Tory delegates could stumble before the June party convention, or she could blow the national election.

His campaign has also stumbled in its early days because of poor planning.

Less than two months after Representative Jim Courter won the Republican nomination for governor, his campaign is stumbling from one setback to another.

The teamsters' fight to unionize Overnite began in 1994, but the campaign stumbled after the union became distracted by election struggles.

If any of his challengers passes him, even if Bush is meeting his own goals, it might look as though his campaign is stumbling.