PHOENIX

With one brief criticism of affirmative action, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has brought new attention to ballot issues aimed at dismantling preferential treatment programs for women and minorities.

The question is whether McCain's support for one of those initiatives, in his home state Arizona, will make any difference.

Ward Connerly, the former University of California regent who is bankrolling the Arizona initiative and similar measures in Nebraska and Colorado, said he hasn't seen any increase in donations or Republican supporters flocking to his cause since McCain spoke up last month.

"We're of course delighted to have the senator's support," Connerly said. "As to whether it translates to any positive or negative effect on us, I don't think so."

McCain's comments also have drawn critics who pointed to comments he made a decade ago calling similar measures "divisive."

The ballot initiatives in Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska call for amending the state constitutions to ban any hiring practices, university scholarships and other public programs that favor one group over others. Arizona and Nebraska officials are still verifying petition signatures while Colorado has the initiative slated for the November ballot.

Connerly's group, the American Civil Rights Initiative, already has been successful with similar initiatives in California, Washington and Michigan. And he plans to continue four years from now in other states.

Ultimately, Connerly said, "the goal is to try to get either the Supreme Court or the Congress to get the policy changed at the national level."

Connerly said his ballot initiatives would attack programs like the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise Program in Tucson. It allows minority and women-owned businesses to bid more for city contracts than other groups and requires prime contractors to make a serious effort to hire them for work.