Taking on `the torch': Democratic Senator Bob Torricelli of New Jersey once looked unbeatable in his bid for re-election, but the specter of a recent ethics ruling has the incumbent—and his party—vulnerable to defeat in a year when the Republicans are one seat away from regaining a majority in the U.S. Senate

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 23, 2002 | by Jamie Dettmer

Nonetheless, Torricelli's biggest selling point with disgruntled Democrats on the campaign trial likely will be that if they vote against him they could deliver the Senate to the GOP.

Torricelli is a rough-and-ready campaigner who views politics as a contact sport--he demonstrated that in seven congressional contests in Bergen County, where he battered rivals with negative campaigning and attack ads. This contest is likely to be more of the same. Despite a public effort to diminish the seriousness of the Forrester challenge, the Torricelli campaign already has launched a barrage of TV advertisements that half-apologize for the senator's "lapse of judgement" but smear his opponent by insinuating that Enron and other recent business scandals show that CEOs aren't to be trusted.

The Democratic incumbent also has tried to focus attention on other aspects of Forrester's business, claiming the Republican challenger is an unscrupulous prescription-drug profiteer. The charge is that Forrester makes his money by inflating the price of prescription drugs. So far that line of attack isn't working. By a 34 percent to 18 percent margin, more people believe Forrester's explanation of his business record than Torricelli's, according to a recent survey.

Says Forrester: "My company wins contracts by gaining recommendations from independent consultants and brokers. If we have offered the lowest cost and best value we get hired. All the dust Bob Torricelli has been throwing about our company is easily blown away by the truth that we lowered drug costs."

The biggest challenge for Forrester in winning the New Jersey race could be Forrester himself. He is an earnest fellow and that comes across, but he lacks campaigning smoothness. When touring a factory last week in southern New Jersey, his shyness was obvious as he waited for people to speak before introducing himself and often seemed at a loss about how to keep a small-talk conversation going.

Gift horse: According to Chang, his "gifts" to Torricelli included cash and a Rolex. The businessman is serving time for making illegal donations to Torricelli's campaign in 1996.

That humility contrasts with an opponent who is just short of P.T. Barnum with a new elephant. Torricelli--a seven-term representative and one-term senator--is self-confidence incarnate. "How do you get him to improve on his speaking skills when he regards himself a latter-day Cicero?" quipped one of the senator's former speechwriters.

An altogether quieter man, Forrester grew up in California, was graduated from Harvard University and attended the Princeton Theological Seminary before becoming assistant pastor at his local Baptist church in the late 1970s. He worked as a legislative researcher for Republicans in the New Jersey State Assembly and went to work for Republican governor Tom Kean as an assistant state treasurer. He was promoted to state pension director. When he went into business he proved to be a natural.

If the unions continue to back Torricelli he may scrape home, but there are rumors that the powerful Teamsters may endorse Forrester and, in doing so, give the Republicans a victory they never expected.