Note to statewide candidates

A huge sleeper issue in Alabama's 2006 general election is constitutional reform. Over the last five years, support for some kind of reform of the world's longest constitution -- either a new state charter or major changes to the current one -- has grown from 10 percent to 70 percent, thanks largely to the admirable grassroots efforts of Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform. Sixty-five percent of voters say they'd be likelier to support a candidate who backed the reform movement, and 68 percent say they'd vote for a constitutional convention if they got the chance.

The constitutional reform train is sitting on the tracks waiting for a big-name conductor. The first candidate to hop aboard could be going places in a hurry.