CHARLESTON -- While painting Republican U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito as a shill for President Bush, none of the three Democratic candidates for the 2nd Congressional District stray far from their party's line on the economy, the war in Iraq and health care.

Anne Barth, 50, Thornton Cooper, 58, and Richie Robb, 62, agree in general on issues that likely matter to the roughly 602,000 people in the district, which includes 18 counties from Mason County to the west to Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle.

All three want to pull out of Iraq.

They all want to eliminate tax cuts for the rich in favor of helping the working poor and the middle class.

They all want some type of universal health care for all Americans.

All three want the federal government to explore alternative forms of energy.

And they are all Kanawha County Democrats with political experience.

Barth worked for 21 years on behalf of U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Robb is a lawyer who served 32 years as South Charleston's mayor, the longest serving mayor for the city of about 13,000. Cooper, a retired state government employee who worked mostly as an attorney and administrator for the Public Service Commission, has challenged numerous constitutional amendments and was a leading critic of Gov. Joe Manchin's 2005 plan to repair West Virginia's ailing retirement system by selling billions in bonds.

Even as they attempt to distinguish themselves as the preferred choice among Democratic voters in Tuesday's primary, their criticisms of one another are polite by most standards. While Robb ridicules Barth for accepting campaign contributions from "the fortunate ones," Cooper and Barth like to remind Robb that he's only been a Democrat for three years.

The major distinction among the three wannabe-Capito challengers is money.

Barth raised nearly $334,000 between January and the end of March, according to her latest Federal Election Commission filing.

Robb had nearly $11,000 to spend, with $8,360 coming from a personal loan.

Cooper reported raising no money and loaned his campaign $7,450. He has pledged not to accept contributions from corporations, labor unions, political action committees and other special interest groups.

In addition to winning the money race, Barth is the chosen favorite of party leaders, having already been endorsed by the state's Democratic congressional delegation, including her former boss.

Robb, who made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination to the seat two years ago, suggests Barth's donor base is hardly representative of the average constituent. "... there is not a dime's worth of difference between Shelley and Anne," he said.

The three Democratic contenders recognize Capito as a formidable foe. She is seeking a fifth term to a job that will pay $174,040 next year. Capito is unopposed in the GOP primary, and at about $926,000, her accumulated war chest is almost three times the size as those of the three Democrats combined.

The Democrats are hoping the district's diverse constituency will see Capito as a lackey for an unpopular president and an elitist Washington-insider who is out of touch with most West Virginians.

On the issues of health care, the economy and the war in Iraq, the candidates' positions offer only subtle differences.

Barth likes the idea of universal health care, but has not yet committed to any particular proposal. She wants to prohibit health insurance companies from excluding people with pre-existing illnesses and dropping coverage for people who are sick. She also wants to require Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices and opposes further cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Cooper favors insurance portability and a mandatory, subsidized universal health care system that requires everyone to receive preventive care and rewards people who meet healthy living standards. He also would require employers to offer workers insurance through Medicare. Though it would not start out as a single-payer plan, it could evolve into one if enough people use it.

Cooper's plan, which mirrors a plan put forth by former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., would strengthen the Food and Drug Administration and restrict prescription drug advertising.

Edwards' plan would pay for the estimated $120 billion annual cost of universal health care by eliminating tax cuts adopted in 2001 for individuals earning more than $200,000. Employers would be required to cover their employees or pay a payroll tax to help fund regional health insurance pools overseen by the federal government. It also would provide broad subsidies for individuals who buy insurance on their own.

Robb, a Vietnam veteran who abandoned the GOP in 2005 over the war in Iraq and Bush's economic policies, favors a health care system with one administrative organization handling all the paperwork and payments, while giving individuals the option to buy out of the program.

He wants to expand existing government programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration and federal employees programs, with money saved by implementing a single-payer system. If more money is needed, he wants to increase Social Security deductions on all income, not just wages.

His ideal health care system would emphasize preventive care and promote healthier lifestyles by increasing taxes on alcohol and tobacco and expanding physical education in school.

To help the working poor and lift people out of poverty, Robb would re-evaluate the income tax scale to provide tax relief from the bottom up. He also wants an immediate freeze on gas prices.

"The oil industry has run this country for too long," he said.

While that may sound appealing to voters, Cooper says a freeze similar to one former President Nixon put in place in the 1970s would not work today because "We can't control OPEC," the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that controls oil supply.

He also said it would be "highly irresponsible" to eliminate state and federal gas taxes, which pay for road improvements.

"I don't mind paying state taxes," he said. "I mind my money going to pay for rich princes in Saudi Arabia."

Cooper wants tax breaks for individuals whose annual adjusted gross income falls below $100,000 and for couples earning less than $200,000.

He also wants to raise the minimum wage to $9.60 an hour by 2011, pull the troops out of Iraq and use the billions being spent there to pay for health care coverage to all Americans. Minimum wage is now $5.85 an hour and will rise to $6.55 on July 24.

Barth wants to eliminate tax cuts for people earning more than $400,000 and tax credits for oil companies and U.S. companies that ship jobs overseas in favor of offering more tax credits for small businesses and college students.

"Since Big Oil took over the White House, gas prices have doubled," Barth said. "We've got to do something."

A pullout from Iraq would free up money to be spent at home to create jobs and improve infrastructure, she said.

Neither of the state's other two U.S. House members have opposition in the primary. Democrat Rep. Nick Rahall faces Republican Marty Gearheart in the fall in the 3rd District. Democrat Rep. Alan Mollohan is unopposed in the primary and general elections for his 1st District seat.

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