New Jersey Election 2002

When Sen. Robert Torricelli dropped out of the race for U.S. Senator in New Jersey after his campaign had been beleaguered by accusations of ethical impropriety, state Democrats looked for a candidate with name recognition and strong support.

On the night Torricelli abandoned his candidacy, former Sen. Frank Lautenberg's offices in Rochelle Park sent out a brief statement that he would "seriously consider serving again if asked."

Five weeks later, Lautenberg, who retired in 2000 after 18 years in the Senate, has fought through a legal battle to replace Torricelli on Tuesday's ballot, which will cost Mercer County, home to Princeton, about $100,000 in reprinting fees. He has attempted to redefine the race from a characteristically anti-Torricelli race to one based on policies and has campaigned as if he were the leader all along.

"Somebody said that when he entered the race, probably one-third of [New Jersey residents] thought he was still senator," said David Rebovich, a political analyst at Rider University.

Several recent polls show Lautenberg, 78, leading Forrester by singleif not double-digit margins. The most recent Eagleton Institute Star-Ledger poll shows Lautenberg leading Forrester, 52 percent to 40 percent.

Lautenberg has picked up newspaper endorsements, including The New York Times and The Star-Ledger, but analysts, like Rebovich, caution that the wild card is still voter turnout.

"It's so hard to predict. It is an uninspiring and upsetting campaign," Rebovich said. "It's uncertain how many New Jerseyans will show up, but the expectation is it will be low."

Polls show that voters are associating with parties rather than with specific issues. The Eagleton poll indicates that only 3 percent of New Jersey voters cite national security as their primary voting concern, a plus for Lautenberg. Forrester has campaigned largely on security and the potential war with Iraq.

When he entered the race, Lautenberg vowed to debate Forrester anytime and anyplace, but he has since recanted and there has been limited interaction between the candidates, except two highly animated debates last week.

He has run a campaign of "well-orchestrated personal appearances," Rebovich said. "He's running out the clock."

During the debates, Forrester has focused on Lautenberg's 1991 vote against the Gulf War and the former senator's age.

"My vote against the Gulf War then was because I knew we had a way to get in, but we didn't have a way to get out," Lautenberg said in response. "The result is we are now looking at Saddam Hussein and the menace that he brings because of weapons of mass destruction because we didn't finish the job in the first place, and I did vote for all the necessary appropriations."

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Lautenberg, a World War II veteran, has maintained that during his last five years in office he voted 20 times to increase defense budget spending.

Lautenberg has attacked For-rester's record on gun control, abortion and the environment as "out of step" with New Jersey voters.

"Women know he, on choice, he has vacillated," he said about Forrester's views on abortion. Lautenberg has also continued to raise Forrester's newspaper columns during the early 1990s as evidence of the Republican nominee's opposition to the state's ban on assault weapons. During the debates, Lautenberg attacked Forrester's decision not to support the Superfund program which calls for companies to pay to clean up polluted sites.