| Torricelli Dropping Out of November Election |  |
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 WASHINGTON — Suffering from an ethics controversy that maintained traction all summer long, New Jersey Sen. Bob Torricelli is planning on dropping out of his re-election race, a Democratic Party source said Monday.
State and national Democratic leaders met with the freshman senator Sunday night to negotiate an end to his re-election campaign, a source close to Torricelli told Fox News. On Monday, Torricelli also notified Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray and New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey that he was planning on withdrawing, another source said. The advice to Torricelli was to "take a long, deep breath. Don't do anything. We'll get back to you," the source said. But sources said after extensive discussions about a possible replacement, Torricelli was expected to make an official announcement during a press conference late Monday afternoon. Torricelli campaign manager Ken Snyder declined to comment. Torricelli was "severely admonished" over the summer by the Senate ethics committee, which investigated allegations that he had accepted campaign gifts from a campaign contributor, businessman David Chang. Chang is serving 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to making illegal campaign contributions. During his court case, he told investigators that he gave the senator Italian suits and a $8,100 Rolex watch, among other gifts, in return for Torricelli's intervention in business deals in North and South Korea. After the Senate admonition, Torricelli apologized to voters, but his Republican rival, Doug Forrester, has capitalized on the issue. A Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll issued this weekend had Torricelli down 14 points, 47-33, taken before Friday's release of documents used in Chang's court case. The documents, which Torricelli had hoped to keep sealed until his appeal -- after the November election -- revealed Chang said that Torricelli would call him up whenever he needed spending money. Chang would comply with $2,000 installments of cash, the papers state. Torricelli said that Chang's claims are uncorroborated and he is an unreliable source. "After all the sensational and false allegations about many of these gifts, it remains that there was never a watch, suits or any of these other items which I was falsely accused," Torricelli said Thursday. "It just never happened and it's time for people to accept." The documents were released after five news agencies asked for them to be unsealed, citing their newsworthiness and the fact that they are public record. The Democrats are trying to maintain a majority in the Senate, which they hold by one seat, and Torricelli's loss would be a big setback to that goal. However, finding a replacement candidate may not be so easy. With only 36 days to the November election, the deadline for candidates to file has passed. Democrats posit that New Jersey law allows that if a candidate resigns or dies with more than 30 days to the election, the governor can appoint a new candidate. If the death or resignation happens with less than 30 days before the election, the race can be canceled and the governor can set a new date for a special election. However, Republicans wanting to keep Torricelli on the ballot say New Jersey elections law prohibits a swap of candidate names within 51 days of the election. Therefore, Torricelli's departure would be a forfeit. Sources say that Torricelli is considering not just withdrawing from the race, but resigning from the Senate if that is what it takes to get a replacement on the ballot. Democrats are now looking for potential replacements. Some front-runners named to take Torricelli's place on the ballot include Rep. Frank Pallone, who is said to already have had discussions with Reid and Corzine as long as a week ago, and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who retired in 2000 and has had a long-standing rift with Torricelli. Democratic Sen. John Corzine won his seat. Another name is Rep. Bob Menendez, who is a popular Hispanic representative but who is also the number five Democrat in the House Democratic leadership and said to be happy with his stature. Fox News' Carl Cameron and the Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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