SIX MORE GOVERNORS ENDORSE McCAIN

Senator McCain secured the endorsements of six Republican governors yesterday, including four from the conservative South. The Arizona senator has a chance to clinch the Republican nomination today with big victories in Ohio and Texas, and he has been rolling out endorsements over recent weeks in an effort to show the party consolidating around him. Governors Barbour of Mississippi and Perdue of Georgia announced their support in a Washington, D.C., press conference yesterday. “There’s no question John McCain has won our nomination. He will be our party’s nominee,” Mr. Barbour said. Although he praised Mr. McCain, the backing was more about acknowledging the mathematical reality than it was a full-throated endorsement. “John McCain is not as conservative as Haley Barbour,” Mr. Barbour said. “But when John McCain is running against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, there’s no question who the conservative candidate is.” Also endorsing Mr. McCain were the leaders of North Dakota, Louisiana, Hawaii, and Alabama.

REZKO TRIAL BEGINS IN CHICAGO; OBAMA UNLIKELY TO TESTIFY

Jury selection began yesterday in the corruption trial of a friend and former fund-raiser for Senator Obama whose dealings have dogged the presidential candidate’s campaign for months. A Chicago real estate developer, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, is accused of using the political influence he gained from generous campaign contributions to shake down companies looking to build hospitals and invest in state pension funds. Mr. Obama may be mentioned during the trial, but a defense attorney for Mr. Rezko indicated it was unlikely he would be called as a witness, the Associated Press reported. The Illinois senator is not accused of any wrongdoing in the case, but he has acknowledged making a mistake in taking part in a real estate transaction with Mr. Rezko after questions surfaced about his business dealings. Senator Clinton’s campaign has repeatedly raised the Rezko connection in recent days and even mentioned yesterday the possibility Mr. Obama might be called to the witness stand.

“Tony Rezko was a friend and supporter of mine for many years,” Mr. Obama said in response to questions at a new conference yesterday, according to the AP. “These charges are completely unrelated to me, and nobody disputes that.”

CLINTON FIRST LADY SCHEDULES TO GO PUBLIC THIS MONTH

About 11,000 pages of schedules from Senator Clinton’s stint as first lady are expected to be released, with some deletions, by the end of March, a spokeswoman for the National Archives, Susan Cooper, said yesterday. Archivists who operate the Clinton Library made the records available for review by President Clinton’s representative, Bruce Lindsey, on January 31. Ms. Cooper said Mr. Lindsey completed his work on Thursday evening. “Actually, President Clinton’s representative wants to open more than we have proposed. We now have to get that stuff scanned and everything properly redacted,” she said. The papers are also subject to a review by lawyers for President Bush.

PRO-CLINTON 527 EMERGES MEEKLY IN TEXAS, OHIO

An independent political group once expected to be a magnet for money from maxed-out supporters of Senator Clinton, the American Leadership Project, managed to get on the air for the first time yesterday, just one day before primary contests that have the potential to drive Mrs. Clinton from the race. The group said it was spending $500,000 for airtime in Texas for an ad touting the former first lady’s work on health care issues, and about $150,000 in Ohio for an ad on job losses. “If speeches could solve problems, there would be no health care crisis, but it takes more,” the Texas ad declares, in an implicit dig at Senator Obama. A spokesman, Roger Salazar, said the group was funded primarily by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, which has endorsed Mrs. Clinton.