David M. Espo, 51, is chief congressional correspondent for The Associated Press. He has worked for AP since 1974, including assignments in Wyoming and Colorado, and was first assigned to the Capitol in 1978. He has covered presidential and congressional campaigns since 1980, when he was AP's reporter assigned to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's race for the White House. He was assistant chief of bureau in Washington from 1989 until 1993, during which time he supervised congressional coverage. Since returning to reporting full time in late 1993, he has covered the major stories of Congress, and chronicled the rocky course of the Republican revolution. Three days after the 1998 mid-term elections, he broke the story of Newt Gingrich's abdication as speaker, then covered President Clinton's impeachment proceedings in the months that followed. In 1993, he was awarded the Merriman Smith award for deadline writing for his story of Election Night 1992. NPF's judges found that his work had style and grace while capturing the essence of the often frenetic Capitol Hill scene. Espo is a native of Rhode Island. He graduated from Haverford College in Haverford, Pa., in 1971. He and his wife, Anne Mazonson, have two children.