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

But Torricelli is no favorite of the state and local media, and the drip-drip effect of negative news articles about him in recent weeks could have a fatal influence come election day.

RELATED ARTICLE: Doug Forrester speaks with Insight.

The GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey against incumbent Democrat Robert Torricelli sat down in the middle of a packed campaign day for this exclusive interview with INSIGHT Senior Editor Jamie Dettmer.

Insight: The polls say you are very much in this race, Doug Forrester. Is there a danger that you will peak too soon and in effect scare the national Democratic establishment into putting a huge and potentially winning effort behind your opponent?

Doug Forrester: The dynamics of Senate races tend to be local, not national, and the national consequences of each is ambiguous at best. It is not clear that the New Jersey race will be the decisive one for the Senate. We will have to wait and see how some of the other races around the country develop. But I don't think the Democratic establishment is prepared to put in any more money. And the recent polls could have the opposite effect, in the sense that the rapid erosion of Bob Torricelli's base and support among independents could prompt them to ask whether it is worth spending here.

Insight: New Jersey has been trending toward the Democrats--they have had some big victories here since 1997.

DF: They have won races with candidates who have not been tagged with negatives. The numbers that are underneath the current head-to-head figures are very significant. They paint a picture that is much more serious for Bob Torricelli. That is why it is important to distinguish this race from the others.

His negatives are remarkably high. Moreover, the numbers indicate that 40 percent of the people of New Jersey have not even heard of the ruling by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. Among those who have heard about it, I lead 40 to 30 [percent]. This suggests that as more people find out about the ruling the gap will become more pronounced. Every day that goes by a few more people hear about the ethics ruling and a few more editorials are written about it.

Insight: Is your plan to focus on the ethics complaints against Torricelli? If so, won't you risk being accused of negative campaigning?

DF: After the ethics committee released its ruling, Bob Torricelli spent a lot of money running television advertisements suggesting something different had happened. It is important for everybody in New Jersey to read what the ethics committee actually said. They were not talking about a momentary lapse. When you read the letter of rebuke you realize he did break the law--the Ethics in Government Act.

The point here is that our campaign agenda includes discussion of his official misconduct. We are not talking about private-life stuff, nor are we talking about behavior outside of the requirements of office. I suppose some candidates might want to go after that as well, but I am not inclined to do so.