Rep. Rob Andrews 

As he launches a primary campaign for Sen. Frank Lautenberg's seat, Rep. Rob Andrews says he’s less prickly than he was 11 years ago when his failed campaign for governor left him holding grudges and questioning the value of a man's word.

The congressman from Camden was bothered by then-Essex County Chairman Thomas Giblin’s 1997 decision to withdraw his support for Andrews to instead back north Jersey product James E. McGreevey for Governor.

“I took it personally and that was my mistake,” said Andrews, 50, who felt vindicated but no less intensely frustrated after McGreevey’s spectacular fall.

“Someone who might have backed McGreevey and not me was not a bad person,” Andrews said.

“He is a foolish person,” the congressman added, “but not a bad person.”

A Broken Pledge Of Mutual Support

Now the man he’s challenging, Lautenberg, questions the value of Andrews’s word after receiving assurance from the younger lawmaker that he could depend on Andrews’s support in this election.

In the lead-up to their current confrontation, Andrews attended an informal gathering of his fellow Democratic congressmen at Lautenberg’s D.C. apartment.

At that meeting, Andrews, who had already lost a bid for governor and had been passed over twice by the party to fill vacancies in the U.S. Senate, told Lautenberg that he would back the 84-year old senator for re-election.

In exchange, Lautenberg “gave us his word he’d campaign and raise money,” according to Andrews.

Lautenberg subsequently didn't deliver, Andrews said – causing grumbling from not only the south Jersey contingent, but among party brass and county chairs who wanted him headlining fundraisers and other party events.

Lautenberg’s people have a different recollection.

“They offered to create campaign events, to which they would invite the senator,” Lautenberg spokesman Brendan Gill said of Andrews and his chief of staff William Caruso.

“I never heard from Caruso,” said Gill.

Gill said there had been one anomaly: a campaign event originally scheduled for Saturday with Andrews and Lautenberg in Marlton. The town hall meeting had been set up weeks ago, according to Gill, but Lautenberg cancelled.

Not only didn’t the Lautenberg people want to appear with Andrews the newly minted challenger, they didn’t relish appearing with Andrews, the man they say broke the agreement for mutual support.

Andrews’s people admit the congressman broke his commitment by stepping out last week and challenging the senator, but only after Lautenberg failed to work for them, as he promised he would.

Byrne Bows Out

In the days prior to Lautenberg’s campaign kickoff last Monday, Andrews was alert to another change on the political terrain: the possibility of former Democratic Party chairman Thomas Byrne challenging Lautenberg.
While on a fund-raising trip in Arizona last Saturday, Andrews talked to Byrne, who shared with the congressman an intriguing piece of data. Byrne's polling showed Lautenberg weak when matched against a positive alternative.

Byrne told Andrews he was on the verge of a run.

The son of former Gov. Brendan Byrne of Essex County, the younger Byrne could expect to drain some votes from Lautenberg in northern pockets of the state where the name still carries weight – precisely the region where the Camden born and bred Andrews is least known.

If Byrne ran, sources close to Andrews said, Andrews would likely enter the race because he considered himself next in line, particularly after the party’s blunder with McGreevey. Those sources said Andrews – the son of a shipyard worker who had worked his way to the U.S. Congress – would not let the son of a former governor jump in front of him.

Andrews’s handlers said they received calls urging Andrews to get in what would likely be a three-man race between two north Jersey politicians running against Andrews in the south. When Byrne opted out on the day Lautenberg officially announced, Andrews’s people said the calls continued to pour in, urging their man to go anyway.

He did.

Battling Numbers And Name Recognition

“This is a senator with nearly 100% name recognition, whom only 52% of voters say they’ll vote for in a Democratic primary,” Andrews said quoting numbers from an April 1-2 poll from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.

Andrews said he feels good about that stat.

The part of the poll he didn't cite gives Lautenberg a 76% job approval rating.

Moving Beyond Machines?

The fact that 1.1 million Democrats participated in the Feb. 5th presidential primary adds another dimension to the Lautenberg-Andrews showdown, according to Dr. Brigid Harrison, professor of political science at Montclair State University.

While party lines and county endorsements are typically crucial in low turnout U.S. Senate primaries, party interest generated by the ongoing presidential contest could mean new voters turning out on the June 3rd senate primary, notes Harrison.

“We saw an historic turnout on Feb. 5th,” the professor said. “New voters may continue to feel very connected politically. No one can predict, because we’ve never had a presidential primary like that. Whether it provides an extra bump in voters is a big unknown right now. The party machines will say ‘it’s all about us,’ but whether they maintain control depends on new Democrats who are plugged into the process.”

Andrews doesn’t have the organizational line in northern counties that must yield some votes to enhance his southern base – namely Hudson, Bergen, Essex, Union and Middlesex – but Andrews does have endorsements from bosses and legislators who he says can mobilize voters. These include Newark’s North Ward Democratic leader Steve Adubato and state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union), a power player statewide and the titular boss of the Union County Democrats.

Lesniak is one of six state Senators from North Jersey who are backing Andrews. The other are: Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson), Nicolas Scutari (D Middlesex), Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), and Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex).

While he was unable to secure the public support of Bergen County Democratic chairman Joseph Ferriero and state Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson), Andrews’s team does not believe that those machines can rally massive support for Lautenberg.

Andrews is betting that others won’t step up to work hard for Lautenberg's campaign in a low turnout primary after the senator failed to turn out for others in the past.

The Andrews camp was encouraged that Lautenberg, a 24-year incumbent, had to fight Ferriero to get what amounted to a lukewarm letter of support.

Lautenberg’s people revel not only in the organizational lines they will command on the ballot, but in the support from the other six members of the New Jersey congressional delegation. All six have signed a pledge to run on the line with Lautenberg in the June 3rd primary.

The Age Issue

If re-elected, Lautenberg will be 90 at the end of his term.

“Rob Andrews is somebody who has the stature, ability and energy that Frank Lautenberg had in his prime,” said Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne). “We’re talking about a six-year term in a demanding position. They brought Frank Lautenberg out of retirement for that seat, and I just think it’s time to put someone in that position who is more physically and enthusiastically able. Frank Lautenberg should be happy about his career and step aside.”

The Andrews campaign also sees an elder statesman at the top of the Republican ticket for the presidency. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive nominee, is 71 years old, and Andrews's supporters argue that as long as Lautenberg remains on a general election ballot, Democrats cannot make McCain’s age an issue in New Jersey.

Andrews is a supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and a superdelegate. He said he intends to watch what Governor Corzine does and remains mindful of “where the race is” as other superdelegates consider shifting support between Clinton and Obama in a presidential contest that may be deadlocked heading into the Democratic National Convention.

Lautenberg is not committed to either candidate.

National Issues In Play

Rep. Andrews's 2003 vote to authorize President George W. Bush to go to war in Iraq could make him vulnerable in a Democratic primary, but Andrews doesn’t think so.

If Lautenberg tries to depict himself as opposed to Iraq from the beginning, Andrews is ready to highlight public statements Lautenberg made in 2002 while on hiatus from the senate in which he said America should go on offense against Saddam Hussein.

Andrews also said that since his authorization vote he has been a more aggressive and effective advocate for troop withdrawal and other Democratic Party initiatives than the senator.

The Drum Major Institute, a progressive think tank, in 2005 gave Lautenberg an “A” rating on middle class issues, while awarding Andrews a “B.”

“I’ve voted with the (Democratic) party 96% of time. I’ve opposed Bush on all of the issues of the day," Andrews said when asked if his reputation as a moderate could damage him in a blue state primary.

“I voted 16 times to withdraw troops, I voted against every single one of President Bush’s tax cuts, I fought Bush on S-CHIP, I fought FISA re-authorization, and stood up for a woman’s right to choose,” Andrews said.

Andrews has been compared to Sen. Joe Lieberman since his personal embrace last year of Republican Assemblyman Francis Bodine, who ran an ill-fated 8th Legislative District senate run as a newly minted Democrat. But Andrews said he is not betraying his party.

“I’m like Barack Obama, not Joe Lieberman,” said Andrews. “I understand that you can take democratic principles and build bi-partisan support. On the war and on tax cuts, Joe Lieberman abandoned his principles, while I’ve been consistent.”

Professor Harrison said there is not much to differentiate the candidates when it comes to the day's hot button topics.

“I don’t think this campaign is going to be issues-driven,” said Harrison. “The reality is he (Andrews) has mitigated his position, in keeping with public opinion, while Frank Lautenberg missed one key vote even as he has continually criticized the administration. There is a clear consistency between the two of them.”

The Money Race

“In terms of money, we will be competitive,” said an Andrews supporter. “The issue is plausibility not equality. If it’s a situation of going up against Corzine with $80 million and we’ve got $7 million, forget it. But if it’s $12-13 million versus $7-8 million, Andrews can make something happen.”

The Dec. 31 federal election report shows Lautenberg with $4.3 million, or $1.9 million more than Andrews’s $2.4 million. Both men have ready access to campaign cash. Lautenberg can self-fund. Andrews is close to South Jersey Democratic Organization leader George Norcross, one of the most powerful men in the state.

Lautenberg Is Ready To Fight

Coming off the shock of Andrews’s entry into the race, those who have been around Lautenberg said the senator looks revved up - almost re-energized.

“It takes a fight to bring certain personalities out of deep freeze,” said Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, who saw Lautenberg as a fund-raising event the other night for his fellow Essex County Freeholder Pat Sebold.

“From what I saw he looked like he was ready for the fight, thriving on it,” Caputo said of the man Republican opponent Pete Dawkins once called the “swamp dog.”

“This is a guy who obviously loves a fight,” Caputo said of the Paterson-born Lautenberg. “If you’re raised that way, you never grow out of it.”

But Andrews, another political animal, doesn't shy away from a fight either.

Andrews said he plans to make moves against his older rival not harshly or bitterly but with clinical detachment, unlike his emotional 1997 run for governor when he secluded himself from top staffers as he felt support unraveling in the north and later blamed Giblin for failing to keep his word. He says he has fought with everyone at one time or another just as he has made peace with everyone at one time or another.

That fights occur and must be fought isn’t personal, isn’t a matter of feelings getting hurt or even words being broken, Andrews said, they are only a necessary social function of his chosen profession.