Senate in the Balance

http://www.wnbc.com/news/1693980/detail.html

Sources Say Torricelli Pressured To Quit Race
Will Embattled Senator Drop Out?

POSTED: 11:37 a.m. EDT September 30, 2002
UPDATED: 1:06 p.m. EDT September 30, 2002

TRENTON, N.J. -- State and national Democratic leaders were negotiating with U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli to end his re-election campaign after months of news about illegal campaign donations and unethical behavior, sources said Monday.

Torricelli is considering pulling out of the race, sources told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

"All I can tell you is this, the only pressure on Bob Torricelli is that which he brings upon himself to do what he thinks is right for the party and for the people of New Jersey," said Ken Snyder, Torricelli's campaign manager.


Torricelli's campaign said the senator planned to have an afternoon news conference to discuss "misleading rumors." Details on when and where had not been finalized.

Torricelli's public-approval ratings have taken a beating all year, and recent polls have showed him trailing Republican challenger Douglas Forrester, a startling predicament for any congressional incumbent.

A Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll released this weekend showed Forrester leading by 13 percentage points. In June, the same poll had Torricelli leading by 14 points.


The Senate ethics committee "severely admonished" Torricelli in July after finding he accepted and failed to disclose gifts from David Chang. The businessman is serving an 18-month prison sentence for making illegal campaign donations.

Torricelli swiftly launched an effort to apologize to the state's voters, but Forrester has capitalized on the issue and polls show him leading.

Torricelli's woes have troubled Democratic strategists, who are struggling to maintain the party's single-seat majority in the Senate in the midterm elections.

Reps. Frank Pallone and Robert Menendez, two House members who have long had ambitions for a promotion to the Senate, are among the names being discussed to take Torricelli's place as the Democratic candidate. Another name being floated is that of former Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat who retired in 2001 after several years of icy relations with Torricelli.

Under New Jersey law, a political party can replace a statewide nominee on the ballot if the person drops out at least 48 days before the election. But only 36 days remain until the Nov. 5 election, meaning Democrats would have to seek approval from the state attorney general. That would likely result in a court challenge from Republicans.

Under state law, if the candidate resigns his office or dies with more than 30 days to the election, the governor can appoint a new candidate. If it happens with less than 30 days before the election, the race can be canceled and the governor can set a new date for a special election.

Even if Democrats jettison Torricelli's ethics problems, they would miss his proven fund-raising skills.

Torricelli had nearly $6.1 million in the bank as of June 30 and has pledged to raise $15 million for his re-election bid. Under federal election rules, Torricelli could not transfer his remaining millions to a successor candidate.

He could, however, give the balance of his excess campaign funds to the national or state parties, which could use them to try to help keep the seat in Democratic control. Both national parties have already spent lavishly on television ads to try to influence the New Jersey campaign.

Forrester, who reported nearly $2.05 million on hand as of June 30, is funding his campaign largely with millions of his own dollars.


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my favorite line is the one i put in bold print...what a vicious cycle..."his lack of ethics are a problem...but damn it, we sure do bring in a lot of money that way!"

 

The story continues....

Torricelli Quits N.J. Senate Race

The Associated Press
Monday, September 30, 2002; 5:41 PM

TRENTON, N.J. –– Democratic Sen. Robert Torricelli abruptly dropped his re-election bid Monday – just five weeks before Election Day – after a bruising year marked by ethics questions and an admonishment by his colleagues.

Noting that Democratic control of the Senate is at stake in the Nov. 5 election, he said: "I could not stand the pain if any failing on my part will do damage to the things and the people that I have fought for all of my life."

Torricelli, who was seeking a second term, spent all day talking with party leaders about possible replacements and researching the legal issues involved in getting a new candidate on the ballot.

Party officials were considering a list of possible candidates including former Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bill Bradley and current House members Bob Menendez, Frank Pallone and Rob Andrews, according to sources in Washington and New Jersey.

An associate said it was unlikely Bradley would accept. A source close to Lautenberg said he would run if asked by Gov. James E. McGreevey, a fellow Democrat.

Republicans said they would contest any effort to have a substitute candidate take his place, arguing that it is barred by state law so close to an election. According to GOP lawyers, the only exception acknowledged by a court has been in the case of the death of a nominee.

"This is a cynical attempt by party bosses to manipulate democracy," said Mitch Bainwol, executive director of the Senate GOP campaign committee.

Under New Jersey law, a political party can replace a statewide nominee on the ballot if the person drops out at least 48 days before the election. But only 36 days remain until the election, meaning Democrats would have to seek approval from the state attorney general.

That would likely result in a court challenge from Republicans.

Torricelli was admonished over the summer by the Senate ethics committee, which investigated allegations that he had accepted gifts from campaign contributor David Chang, a businessman whom the lawmaker aided.

Chang told investigators he gave the senator Italian suits and a $8,100 Rolex watch, among other gifts, in return for Torricelli's intervention in business deals in North and South Korea. Seven people pleaded guilty to making illegal donations to Torricelli's campaign in 1996.

Torricelli has denied any illegality or violations of Senate rules. Federal prosecutors investigated but decided against filing charges against him.

Torricelli swiftly launched an effort to apologize to the state's voters, but his Republican rival, Doug Forrester, has capitalized on the issue.

One poll released over the weekend gave Forrester a lead of 13 percentage points over the Democratic incumbent. Torricelli's support was only 34 percent among those surveyed. In June, the same poll, the Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers survey showed Torricelli with a 14-point lead.

Torricelli was elected in 1996 to replace Bradley, the former basketball star who later ran for the 2000 Democratic presidential nomination and lost to Al Gore. Torricelli and Lautenberg served together in the Senate as Democrats, but often were at loggerheads.

Torricelli was a powerhouse fund-raiser: He helped raise more than $100 million for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as its chairman in the last election cycle.

"Don't feel badly for me," Torricelli said at the news conference. "I've changed people's lives. I'm proud of every day of it, and I wouldn't change a bit of it."

 

what are you, 12 years old??? you made your point...why the need to put the personal dig in to make someone feel bad?? what's the point of that??? Major and I don't always agree, but he's always respectful....you and I agree way too much, particularly on political issues, but you are rarely respectful. You don't win people to your argument with arrogance and by telling them how wrong they are...

there's no need for it, T.J. no need at all...