Mark Merritt, a campaign spokesman for Mr. North, who was campaigning in Richmond today, called Mrs. Boxer "an extremist."

Mr. North's campaign spokesman, Mark Merritt, waved a hand toward the crowd and said: "We want this to be the message today - all the people.

Mark Merritt, his counterpart at the trade group representing pharmacy benefit managers, called that "a huge understatement."

"We would like to be like Consumer Reports for this stuff, to have the Witt seal of approval," said Mark Merritt, a partner in the firm.

The communications director of Mr. Alexander's campaign, Mark Merritt, said today that the campaign had wanted to make sure the information was correct before disclosing it.

A North campaign spokesman, Mark Merritt, said the money from Duke supporters was unsolicited and came as something of a surprise.

Mark Merritt passed North a note: "We are ready to start moving toward the door - are you?"

"We want to make earned media in all the key states every single day," was how Mark Merritt, communications director for former Gov. Lamar Alexander, put it.

Mark Merritt, president of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, said the new data vindicated the techniques used by members of his organization to manage drug spending.

"We view this as a permanent campaign," said Mark Merritt, a political consultant hired by the American Association of Health Plans in 1997 to oversee it.