Could Frank Lautenberg’s bid for another term in the U.S. Senate a complication in the form of a primary challenge? From the Star-Ledger:
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-1st Dist.) announced today he is thinking of challenging U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) for the Democratic nomination.
A statement issued this afternoon by Andrews’ chief of staff, Bill Caruso, said, “Over the last few days, Congressman Andrews has been approached by many leaders of the Democratic Party who have urged him to step forward and run for the Senate because they think that 2008 is a year where voters are seeking a change in government. Because he respects the judgment of these leaders, he is carefully considering how to best to serve New Jersey and the country.”
Andrews was the only New Jersey Democrat in the House of Representatives not present today for a “unity rally’ in support of Lautenberg, who formally announced he is seeking a fifth six-year term.
Andrews currently sits on a $1 million $2.4 million nest egg, and could marshal enough resources to give Lautenberg a bit of a headache. Not being much of a fan of Andrews’ machine pol style, or his record in Congress, I hope that this challenge doesn’t materialize.
It’ll open up his seat in Congress for someone more liberal (and hopefully less machine-connected). And he probably doesn’t pose much threat to Lautenberg, if his previous track record in statewide elections is any indicator (he ran for Governor in 1997, and lost in the primary to a certain suburban mayor…).
Both Robert Andrews and Frank Pallone raised big warchests to compete for the Senate nomination that went to Menendez in 2006.
Primary challenges burn a lot of bridges. If Andrews loses this – and it’d be an uphill struggle – then he’s finished in NJ Democratic politics. And he’s young enough to wait.
This seems to me like a trial balloon. They want to see if Lautenberg can be pushed away from running. I think they’ve done it badly, but they want to see if Frank Lautenberg will be ready to go quietly. The problem for Andrews is that if that happens then he may take the blame, painting a big target on him for his fellow congressmen to aim at when they enter the primary too.
The $2.3 million cash on hand for Rob Andrews is just a drop in the bucket compared to Lautenberg’s personal fortune as one of the founders and the long time CEO of payroll giant ADP. This is great news as Andrews’ money would put him ahead of Rush Holt and in a one-on-one battle with Frank Pallone for one of the statewide slots.
Andrews has been vigorously opposed by the state’s most prominent paper, the Newark Star Ledger due to his status as a tool of the Norcross machine.
Interestingly enough, PolitickerNJ (the former PoliticsNJ) reports a spokesman for Andrews stating that Andrews could not attend due to a previously scheduled family obligation. This hardly seems like a full on challenge, particularly since Andrews spokesman was talking about party unity.
If I had to guess, Andrews will bide his time and go for the next available statewide slot whether it is Governor or US Senator. The two big Democratic counties are Essex and Hudson and Dick Codey and Bob Menendez were there and in Lautenberg’s corner.
It was pretty well-known that he wanted Corzine’s seat and Lautenberg is 83 years old and maybe Andrews thinks if he starts to float this idea he can goad him into retirement.
I suspect this trial balloon won’t go anywhere right now. But while our attention is on the question, is a choice between Pallone and Andrews inevitable, when one of those Senate seats does become available? and if so, which would be better?
I hope Lautenberg hangs onto that seat as damn long as he pleases. And I hope that’s a long time– my hope is that, by the time Lautenberg decides to retire, Newark Mayor Cory Booker will have built a long and impressive enough track record to run for that senate seat.