Posted on 02/19/2005 11:14:01 PM PST by nickcarraway
February 17 - Bill Pascrell, who has represented the 8th District in Congress since 1997, has his eyes on a promotion to the U.S. Senate.
The 68-year-old Democrat, a former Paterson mayor and state assemblyman, wants his name added to the list of would-be senators who are taking affirmative steps this year to position themselves for a vacancy should Jon Corzine win the November gubernatorial election.
After conferring with about 20 politically-connected friends and allies several weeks ago, Pascrell decided to enter what he called “the first phase” of a Senate candidacy. Over the next several months he will ramp up his fund-raising operation and travel the state, introducing and reintroducing himself to Democrats outside of his compact Essex/Passaic district. It will be something of a viability test -- which Pascrell himself will judge.
“We politicians like to be slapped on the back and all that, but I have to be totally objective about this, and I will be,” he promised.
Corzine’s U.S. Senate seat isn’t up until November 2006. Upon being sworn in as a governor next January he would name his own replacement in Washington .
Pascrell’s interest is conditional.
“Let’s say Senator Corzine is elected governor,” he said. “Then you’re either going to have someone who is a caretaker or someone who he wants in that seat running that year as an incumbent. If it’s an open seat, I might be interested in that. But I’m not going to run against an incumbent in a primary.”
Corzine’s camp has floated the possibility of naming an interim successor, so as not to show favoritism to one aspiring congressman over another. But David Rebovich, the director of the Rider University Institute for New Jersey Politics, said political realities would ultimately make that an unappealing option one for Corzine.
“You never know, there may be an opening there for the Republicans, and then you’d have four or five Democrats fighting it out in a primary and saying bad things about each other? It just doesn’t make sense to me,” Rebovich said.
Actually, more than a few insiders believe Corzine already has an informal understanding with Robert Menendez that he would appoint the Hudson County congressman. Faced with the possibility of a special election for governor last year, Corzine’s aides let it be known that Menendez would likely have been Corzine’s replacement pick.
Shortly before launching his ’05 bid in December, Corzine met with most of the state’s Democratic congressmen and told them he would not promise the appointment away before the November election. Pascrell probably wouldn’t be testing the waters if he didn’t believe that.
“I was satisfied with the answer he gave me,” Pascrell said. “I believe him to be an honest and trustworthy man.”
To run in an open ’06 primary, Pascrell -- and any other interested congressman -- would have to give up his House seat. That reality could thin the field, but if multiple candidates were to enter, the value of Pascrell’s base would be magnified.
“You can’t deny the logic that the more Democrats there are in the race, the fewer votes you need to win,” Rebovich said. “But having said that, there are guys with bigger constituencies than just their congressional districts who are out there. Menendez and Andrews come to mind.”
Menendez, the number three Democrat in the U.S. House, was passed over -- in favor of Corzine -- for the party’s Senate nod in 2000. He declined a chance to step in for Robert Torricelli at the last minute in 2002, but he’s now aiming to raise $4 million this year to make himself the clear favorite for an ’06 opening.
Andrews narrowly lost a gubernatorial primary in 1997 and flirted with challenging Corzine for the nomination this year. In yielding to Corzine, it’s widely assumed Andrews was seeking to position himself as the favorite for a future Senate vacancy -- either next year or in 2008, when Frank Lautenberg’s seat is up.
Pascrell acknowledged the talk of deal-making but noted how unpredictable politics, particularly the brand practiced in New Jersey , can be. And he probably has a point. Who would have predicted Governor McGreevey’s demise last year? Or Torricelli’s in September 2002? Or Jim Treffinger’s before that? And remember Don DiFrancesco?
Having “a couple plans under your bed,” Pascrell said, is a sound strategy for any politician.
“I want to make sure that other people perceive me as a viable candidate. I want to make sure I can raise the money,” he said. “Only God knows what’s going to happen. Everyone thinks it’s this little package with a nice bow around it, but that’s not how life works. If I were to have waited for tidy things, I never would have been elected mayor, or to Congress, or to the state legislature.”
At the end of 2004, Pascrell had just over $500,000 in his House account. Menendez had over $1.6 million, and Andrews nearly $1.4 million. Frank Pallone, who is publicly campaigning for a potential appointment to Corzine’s seat, had a hair over $1 million.
When Menendez ran for chairman of the House Democratic caucus two years ago, Pascrell twisted arms on his behalf, work that may have made the difference in Menendez’s 104-103 win over Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut . Pascrell calls Menendez a friend, but said that wouldn’t preclude him from challenging him in an open Senate primary.
“I don’t need my name in the paper to make my life complete,” Pascrell said. “If I did I would need counseling. I’m seriously contemplating doing this. I’ll give you your money’s worth, I promise that. I’ll make it interesting.”
Menendez - 2:1
Andrews - 4:1
Pallone - 5:1
Placeholder - 10:1
Rothman, Pascrell - Not Gonna Happen
Sounds a bit kinky but who am I to judge?
The fact that neither of them makes me want to hurl, which is an attribute shared by five of the six incumbent senators from the Tri-state area, leads me to believe that their ambition for higher office is deluded, at best.
Don't we not have a REPUBLICAN contender for the seat?
Any possibilities?
This guy's done stinking up the NFL, he's now ready to stink up the Senate?
Your congressman has some ambition I see.
Yes! Forrester! He will be appointed by Brett if we can force Corzine to give up his seat in order to run for Gov.
does anyone not believe corzine wasn't involved with kushner,mcgreevy and cipel?
Menendez has some mistress issues. Apparently, he set her up in a business in Hudson Co. (NJ's Mos Eisley Spaceport) and used his influence with his cronies to steer state contracts to her. Maybe it'll come out.
This is New Jersey, after all.
Being caught with a mistress-of the opposite sex-could prove fatal to his aspirations for higher office.
:)
-good times, G.J.P.(Jr.)
Why are you pinging me to this? Are you purposefully trying to make me cranky?
As the son of someone who's from Jersey City by way of North Bergen, I can tell you that you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
The Manna Diner's still pretty cool, however, for a 3AM helping of french fries with cheese and gravy.
The thing that PO'd me most about the McGreevey a fair is how such a Fanook like ManGravy can get such a hot Pork Chopper for a wife.
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