STATE CONVENTION LACKING 2 REPUBLICAN HEAVY HITTERS.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Sacramento Bureau

The California Republican Convention this weekend has been like an all-star baseball game without Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

While there are plenty of presidential hopefuls here - seven at the last count - heavy hitters Elizabeth Dole and George W. Bush are absent.

``They certainly would have provided some star quality and pumped up the adrenaline,'' said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe.

This is the first time the state party has convened since November's election losses and the failed attempt to kick President Clinton out of office.

To top it off, the state party leadership is in the midst of a vitriolic internal battle over its stance on abortion, and whether some conservatives are driving voters away by continuing to push such social issues.

``I think Bush and Dole were worried about all the bitterness,'' said Ron Unz, the Republican Silicon Valley entrepreneur who successfully pushed through the state's initiative to eliminate bilingual education. ``What if there were fistfights in the hall? They'd be forced to take a stance one way or another and alienate the other group.''

Others believe that Dole and Bush - neither of whom have officially declared themselves candidates - had purely logistical reasons for staying away.

Fred Thomas, a party member from Santa Barbara, sported a Bush 2000 sticker but said he wasn't disappointed his candidate was tending to his duties as governor.

``He's down in Texas taking care of business like he should,'' Thomas proclaimed.

Although no one at the convention had officially declared candidacy to become the Republican nominee, there were many aspirants who converged on California to take advantage of the state's new early primary date on March 7, 2000.

Many were familiar faces: former Vice President Dan Quayle, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, magazine editor Steve Forbes, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Ambassador Alan Keyes.

Other presidential aspirants at the convention were conservative Christian activist Gary Bauer and U.S. Sen. Bob Smith from New Hampshire.