Jerry Mcnerney

The sun was hardly up when Jerry McNerney shut his front door behind him, a bowl of Great Grains Maple Pecan Crunch in his stomach, a brown suit and his good black shoes in a garment bag for later. In the 16 hours before he returned home, the freshman congressman who was never supposed to win would put on 40 pounds of gear at a firehouse and spend nearly two hours at a grocery store, talking to voters by the beer nuts.

Wayne Johnson knew Richard W. Pombo was in trouble late last week when people he canvassed in San Joaquin Valley farm towns began using the politically deadly "time for a change" phrase. "When you hear that," said Johnson, a veteran Sacramento political consultant, "you know it is over. They'll say, 'I agree with Richard on this' and 'I agree with Richard on that,' but just as you are going out the door they say, 'I just think it is time for a change.'

In playing a critical role in the defeat of seven-term GOP incumbent Richard W. Pombo of Tracy, environmental groups demonstrated political muscle that has eluded them for years. Led by Defenders of Wildlife, a group better known for its wolf preservation efforts than its campaign clout, environmentalists poured money and volunteers into a race that was at best considered a long shot.

Jerry McNerney always thought he would win his race for Congress. It's just that nobody else did. Why would anyone? He's a 55-year-old math wonk and wind energy expert who never even ran for class president. He likes to climb wind turbines. He named his daughter Windy. The idea of speaking in front of a crowd makes him nervous.