Quinnipiac University: Torricelli Campaign on Life Support

(HAMILTON, AUGUST 8) - Forrester for Senate campaign manager Bill Pascoe - responding to a new Quinnipiac University poll showing the race for the U.S. Senate between Robert Torricelli and Doug Forrester to be a dead heat, with both candidates tied at 37 percent - today issued the following statement:

"Today's Quinnipiac University poll says it better than we ever could: Robert Torricelli's campaign is on life support - and his base voters have just signed a Do Not Resuscitate waiver for his spin doctors. 'Women, independents, and especially Democrats have defected from his campaign in significant numbers,' says Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Now that the Senate Ethics Committee - a Democrat-led, bipartisan group of his peers - has branded him a liar who accepted illegal gifts, then broke the law by failing to disclose them, and then engaged in a years-long campaign of misinformation and deceit to cover up his misdeeds, New Jersey voters are moving away from his campaign faster than they can dump their shares in WorldCom.

"The Ethics Committee's judgment that he lied and broke the law has clearly had a serious negative impact on Mr. Torricelli's image. Since Quinnipiac's last survey on June 19, there's been a 16-point swing away from Mr. Torricelli on the question of honesty and integrity; by a 45-29 percent margin, voters now believe he does NOT have the honesty and integrity necessary to serve effectively as their Senator. His job approval rating has plunged to just 28 percent, while 49 percent DISAPPROVE of the job he's doing - his worst numbers ever, according to Quinnipiac. And just 15 PERCENT of New Jersey voters have a favorable opinion of him personally, while 36 percent have an unfavorable opinion.

"Consequently, fewer than two-thirds of the Democrats polled now support Mr. Torricelli, while 77 percent of Republicans support Doug. And perhaps more importantly, Independent voters - the crucial swing voters who decide so many New Jersey elections - back Doug by a ten-point margin, 37-27 percent.

"Pundits take note: Clearly, New Jersey residents have a lower tolerance for corruption among their elected representatives than some pundits seem to think.

"This makes SEVEN STRAIGHT general election polls that show Mr. Torricelli well below the 50 percent threshold - in fact, ALL SEVEN of them show he can't even break 45 PERCENT on the ballot-test question. The last two independent surveys have showed the race in a dead heat. For a career politician who's been a Member of Congress for 20 years, that's serious trouble.

"There's good news and bad news in this poll. The bad news is that as Torricelli continues to feel Doug Forrester's pressure, he will undoubtedly reach even deeper into his slash-and-burn bag of dirty tricks; but the good news is that New Jersey residents will have only 89 more days to put up with this before they have a chance to retire Mr. Torricelli and return honor and integrity to their representation in the U.S. Senate. Hang on, New Jersey - help is on the way!"

Where are the Forrester ads?

If Toricelli is still at 37% in the immediate aftermath of his disgrace, I think we're going to have a hard time unseating him.

Considering you can routinely count on a candidate from either party to get to the 42-43% level just from purely partisan votes...

Go Doug! Go Doug!

BTTMA! (Bump To The Moon, Alice!)

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

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