OE

To solve the first blank, you will need to use process of elimination to find the best answer. Rancorous, or spiteful, is a bit extreme; in the absence of further information, we should give even a politician the benefit of the doubt and assume he doesn't want to elicit actual hostility. Indigenous is not a very good choice either; it means originating in a particular region. Given the political context, partisan (partial to a particular person or party) makes the most sense. We are then told that the candidate was probably disappointed by the speech's effect. If his goal was in fact to sir up partisan feelings, he would likely have been gratified by an incendiary (tending to arouse or inflame) effect - eliminate this choice. Noxious is probably too strong a word to be warranted in this context; it means harmful or corrupting. Soporific, which means tending to cause sleep, is the best answer. In the final sentence, we are told that the candidate's speech was characterized by reasoned argument. To fill in the final blank, then, we need to find a word that will make the sentence read something like the politician avoided inflammatory taglines in favor of reasoned arguments. Abhor (to loathe or to detest utterly) is too strong a word, and does not really work with the sentence structure - one does not generally abhor something in favor of something else. Preclude is also not quite what we need; it means to make impossible. To eschew, however, means to abstain or to avoid and is the correct answer.