LOWELL, Mass. (AP) – When Paul Tsongas was running for president in 1992, the curious would cruise his Lowell neighborhood and often assume Jack and Terry O’Connor’s hilltop mansion was the candidate’s home, in part because its columned facade looked like the White House.

The O’Connors never minded the doorbell rings, as misguided as they were, because they were strong supporters of Tsongas and his Democratic campaign.

Fifteen years later, Terry O’Connor remains fond of the late senator, but she’s decided to vote for Lowell City Councilor Eileen Donoghue in her battle with Tsongas’s widow, Niki, for the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Martin Meehan.

While the Democratic primary involves five candidates, the focus in Lowell – the district community that generates the largest voter turnout – is almost entirely on Donoghue and Tsongas. Competing affections have split the city and created heartburn for political activists who admire both women.

The primary is Sept. 4, immediately after Labor Day.

“We were hoping that someone would drop out,” said Terry O’Connor as she played with her grandchildren at Kittredge Park, where Paul Tsongas used to lead an annual spring-cleaning. “We didn’t want this split.”

O’Connor’s sentiments were echoed throughout the city, especially in the Belvidere neighborhood where the Tsongases lived. A woman living in a house once owned by the Tsongases refused to speak for publication, so strong was her affinity for Niki Tsongas despite a “Donoghue” sign on her front lawn.

Another neighbor, Julie Broderick, the wife of City Councilor Kevin Broderick, summed up a prominent sentiment by saying, “I have tremendous respect for Niki, but I just think Eileen has the experience to be a really good congresswoman.”

John Razzino, sitting down for an early lunch at the Owl Diner, offered the opposing view.

“(Paul Tsongas) was a very influential guy. He got a lot of stuff done. She’ll do the same,” said Razzino, who owns a truck maintenance company.

The division is leavened by one irony-laden fact: Donoghue, a Lowell lawyer, first ran for the City Council 12 years ago after being recruited by Paul Tsongas. Now she cites her subsequent experience – including two terms as mayor – as the principle reason to elect her over Niki Tsongas, who is making her first run for elective office.

“It is about working day in and day out and not just watching it,” Donoghue told The Associated Press in an interview.

Tsongas retorts that Meehan never had an elective experience when he first won office in 1992; he resigned from Congress on July 1 to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Tsongas also says the time she spent as a political spouse while her husband was in the House, Senate and on the presidential campaign trail will pay dividends for the 5th Congressional District.

The district extends from Haverhill in the northeast to Hudson and Bolton in the southwest.

“I go to Washington with a lot of personal relationships that will allow me to deliver from Day One,” Tsongas said.

As Niki Tsongas is fond of saying, the name “Tsongas” originally adorned the side of a Lowell laundry truck owned by her late husband’s family. But with his Ivy League education, wry sense of humor and relentless focus on issues such as environmentalism, job creation and deficit reduction, Paul Tsongas made the family name synonymous with political clout.

He helped preserve the city’s mill buildings, create the Lowell National Historical Park and instilled a sense of civic commitment that continues to permeate Lowell’s economic, academic and media institutions.

He stepped down from the Senate in 1984 after being diagnosed with cancer, but returned to political life with his 1992 presidential campaign. He won the New Hampshire primary before ceding the race to the eventual general election winner, Bill Clinton. Tsongas died in January 1997 of complications related to a recurrence of his cancer.

Niki Tsongas, 61, a lawyer and dean at Middlesex Community College, has blossomed into the establishment candidate. She is receiving advice from her husband’s former political advisers, won the endorsement of Emily’s List and has used that Washington group’s clout among women to raise over $1 million. It is now fueling a more that $300,000 TV ad spree that will not stop until the primary.

Tsongas has highlighted her connections by choosing Ellen Murphy Meehan, the former congressman’s wife, to be chairwoman of her campaign. Meehan himself says he is staying apolitical in the contest.

Donoghue, 53, casts herself as the underdog, a fact underscored by her ability to raise only $250,000. She has loaned her campaign another $450,000 and will begin airing TV ads Monday that contrast her with Tsongas.

Nonetheless, Donoghue has the backing of the state senators from Lowell and Methuen, which also turns out a huge bloc of the vote on Election Day, and her campaign got a boost this past week when she was endorsed by the district’s two largest newspapers, The Sun of Lowell and The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover.

The Sun, like its residents, expressed admiration for both women, before gritting its teeth and making a choice.

“She may be a successful attorney and city councilor today, but Donoghue’s accomplishments were never handed to her,” the editorial said.

AP-ES-08-26-07 1311EDT