Corzine squeaks by Franks in bitterly contested Senate race

New Jersey's U.S. Senate race ended last night with a photo finish. Jon Corzine, propelled by more than $60 million in campaign spending, squeaked by Bob Franks in a 51- to 48-percent victory, despite a last-minute surge from Franks.

Corzine spoke confidently at his acceptance speech, cheered on by an ebullient crowd. "I hope very much to be a great Senator in the footsteps of Frank Lautenberg and Bob Torricelli," he told his supporters.

He also thanked four-term Congressman Franks for a "very competitive campaign" and told the crowd: "This has been a joyful journey for me."

The highly contested New Jersey seat played a critical role in the Democratic attempt to retake the Senate after six years of GOP control. Despite Corzine's win here, however, the Democrats were unable to pick up a majority of Senate seats.

Corzine's victory marks the end of the most expensive Senate campaign in American history. The former Goldman, Sachs & Co. chairman spent $3 million on Election Day alone in an effort to get out the vote, particularly among the Democratic base of union workers, women and minorities.

Franks, by comparison, had only $6 million — one-tenth of Corzine's budget — to spend throughout his entire campaign.

New Jersey has long been one of the more moderate states in a liberal Northeast. Fifty-six percent of voters here are registered Independent, with the rest evenly split among Democrats and Republicans.

But Corzine chose to ignore the stereotype and run on an unabashedly liberal platform. His Website promises "universal health care coverage," "universal long-term care," and "universal gun registration and licensing" — all of which would require significant new government expenditures.

Corzine's campaign also made students and education a primary focus. His platform proposes a national program to pay for the first two years of higher education, as well as federal support to pay state school tuitions for all students with a "B" average.

Franks, by contrast, ran on the promise of tax cuts and "rooting out wasteful Washington spending," according to his Website. Instead of proposing a national education initiative, Franks said he wanted education to be controlled at the local level.

What voters are most likely to remember from this race, however, is the controversy that has plagued it. Yesterday, the Corzine campaign expressed outrage when more than 50 people reportedly received calls after midnight asking them to vote for Corzine.

The automated calls — which Corzine said were not made by his campaign — targeted mainly white suburban voters. The callers were identified as African Americans for Corzine.

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The Corzine campaign speculated that the calls were intended to anger potential supporters and cause them to vote against the candidate. The Franks campaign denied responsibility.

Corzine himself faced repeated criticism from Franks that he was attempting to buy the election. Most of Corzine's campaign funds came from the hundreds of millions he earned on Wall Street. Corzine responded that by spending mostly his own money, he would remain independent from the special interests.

Republicans also charged that Corzine's wealth would produce conflict-of-interest problems. A press release from the Franks campaign said, "For Jon Corzine to say he is unbought and unbossed is ridiculous — Goldman, Sachs & Co. calls his every move."

More than half of Corzine's assets still remain in Goldman, Sachs & Co. stock — stock that he is bound by contract to hold for three to four years. Corzine has pledged, however, that he will try to liquidate his stock — $400 million total — and place his assets in a blind trust if elected.