Post by Bret Walker on Oct 1, 2002 12:05:56 GMT -5
Torricelli quits Senate race
"... There's a point at which every man reaches their limit. I've reached mine."
By Tom Turcol
Inquirer Staff Writer
Scandal-scarred U.S. Sen. Robert G. Torricelli abruptly withdrew from his reelection campaign yesterday, leaving New Jersey's Democratic Party in chaos as it scrambles to find a high-profile replacement and persuade the courts to make the unprecedented change just five weeks before the election.
At stake is more than just one Senate seat. A victory by Republican challenger Douglas Forrester could shift the balance of power in the U.S. Senate to the GOP.
Sept. 16 was the deadline for ballot changes in New Jersey, but the Democrats petitioned the New Jersey Supreme Court for a waiver. A hearing was scheduled for this afternoon.
Forrester harshly criticized the move, saying the Democrats were engaged in a "desperate attempt" to change the law, and Republican officials in Washington vowed to fight the effort in court.
Former U.S. Sens. Bill Bradley and Frank R. Lautenberg were the strong favorites of party leaders to fill Torricelli's spot on the Nov. 5 ballot. Also under consideration were three members of the U.S. House: Robert E. Andrews of Haddon Heights, Robert E. Menendez of Union City, and Frank Pallone Jr. of Long Branch.
Bradley, an enormously popular figure in the state who served three terms in the Senate, from 1979 to 1997, was clearly the top choice of Democratic leaders to become their emergency candidate, but it was unclear whether the former New York Knicks star and unsuccessful presidential candidate would accept.
Lautenberg, according to several key Democrats, had signaled his willingness to become the candidate if asked. Party officials said Torricelli, 51, who had clashed bitterly with Lautenberg while they were in the Senate, might try to block that choice, but others said he was in no position to dictate terms.
Torricelli, whose campaign was consumed by an ethics controversy, said he was withdrawing for the good of the party: "I will not be responsible for the loss of the Democratic majority in the United States Senate."
The political earthquake that shook New Jersey reverberated across the nation, as Democrats and Republicans locked in a high-stakes battle for control of the Senate reassessed their chances with Torricelli out of the picture.
The New Jersey contest is one of a handful of highly competitive races that could determine whether the Democrats maintain their one-vote majority on Capitol Hill.
Gov. McGreevey met with Democratic leaders at the governor's mansion in Drumthwacket last night in an attempt to arrive at what he said would be a "consensus choice" to replace Torricelli, who had been a member of the House from Bergen County, in North Jersey, for 14 years before moving to the Senate in 1996. He was seeking a second Senate term.
On Sunday night, McGreevey had convened a meeting with Torricelli and a number of party officials that ended with the somber assessment that the Torricelli cause was hopeless.
In an emotional news conference outside the governor's office late yesterday afternoon, the flamboyant and often controversial Torricelli said it had become clear that his attempts to focus the campaign on policy matters rather than the ethics controversy would not be successful. "I cannot talk about war and peace or economic opportunity or the environment, the sanctity of our Constitution or the things that have guided my life," Torricelli said in ending his candidacy. "I can't be heard."
He added: "My voice is not so important that it cannot be substituted. If I cannot be heard, then someone else must be heard."
Torricelli said he had consulted with a number of state and national Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, before making his decision.
"... There's a point at which every man reaches their limit. I've reached mine."
By Tom Turcol
Inquirer Staff Writer
Scandal-scarred U.S. Sen. Robert G. Torricelli abruptly withdrew from his reelection campaign yesterday, leaving New Jersey's Democratic Party in chaos as it scrambles to find a high-profile replacement and persuade the courts to make the unprecedented change just five weeks before the election.
At stake is more than just one Senate seat. A victory by Republican challenger Douglas Forrester could shift the balance of power in the U.S. Senate to the GOP.
Sept. 16 was the deadline for ballot changes in New Jersey, but the Democrats petitioned the New Jersey Supreme Court for a waiver. A hearing was scheduled for this afternoon.
Forrester harshly criticized the move, saying the Democrats were engaged in a "desperate attempt" to change the law, and Republican officials in Washington vowed to fight the effort in court.
Former U.S. Sens. Bill Bradley and Frank R. Lautenberg were the strong favorites of party leaders to fill Torricelli's spot on the Nov. 5 ballot. Also under consideration were three members of the U.S. House: Robert E. Andrews of Haddon Heights, Robert E. Menendez of Union City, and Frank Pallone Jr. of Long Branch.
Bradley, an enormously popular figure in the state who served three terms in the Senate, from 1979 to 1997, was clearly the top choice of Democratic leaders to become their emergency candidate, but it was unclear whether the former New York Knicks star and unsuccessful presidential candidate would accept.
Lautenberg, according to several key Democrats, had signaled his willingness to become the candidate if asked. Party officials said Torricelli, 51, who had clashed bitterly with Lautenberg while they were in the Senate, might try to block that choice, but others said he was in no position to dictate terms.
Torricelli, whose campaign was consumed by an ethics controversy, said he was withdrawing for the good of the party: "I will not be responsible for the loss of the Democratic majority in the United States Senate."
The political earthquake that shook New Jersey reverberated across the nation, as Democrats and Republicans locked in a high-stakes battle for control of the Senate reassessed their chances with Torricelli out of the picture.
The New Jersey contest is one of a handful of highly competitive races that could determine whether the Democrats maintain their one-vote majority on Capitol Hill.
Gov. McGreevey met with Democratic leaders at the governor's mansion in Drumthwacket last night in an attempt to arrive at what he said would be a "consensus choice" to replace Torricelli, who had been a member of the House from Bergen County, in North Jersey, for 14 years before moving to the Senate in 1996. He was seeking a second Senate term.
On Sunday night, McGreevey had convened a meeting with Torricelli and a number of party officials that ended with the somber assessment that the Torricelli cause was hopeless.
In an emotional news conference outside the governor's office late yesterday afternoon, the flamboyant and often controversial Torricelli said it had become clear that his attempts to focus the campaign on policy matters rather than the ethics controversy would not be successful. "I cannot talk about war and peace or economic opportunity or the environment, the sanctity of our Constitution or the things that have guided my life," Torricelli said in ending his candidacy. "I can't be heard."
He added: "My voice is not so important that it cannot be substituted. If I cannot be heard, then someone else must be heard."
Torricelli said he had consulted with a number of state and national Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, before making his decision.
