Millionaire-turned-candidate on track to break campaign spending record

TRENTON, N.J. - With two weeks to go before the Democratic primary, Wall Street power player Jon Corzine is pouring millions from his personal fortune into an effort to crush his rival in a U.S. Senate campaign that's on track to break national spending records.

"With all the money against me, it is amazing I am still standing," said Corzine's target, former governor and Senate contender Jim Florio.

Florio is indeed standing, but political analysts say he is in a tight corner. The past two weeks featured four debates in which the one-time Navy boxer hoped for but failed to score a knockdown punch against his inexperienced foe.

Instead, Florio gave Corzine an advantage by getting caught on a flip-flop of his views on Social Security. The weekly New Jersey Jewish News released a tape recording of Florio in May 1999 endorsing the investment of Social Security funds in the stock market, but since then Florio has attacked Corzine for proposing the same thing.

When the tape was made public last week, Florio said, "The transcript that came out clearly indicates I misspoke. I did not think it was a good idea in the past. I do not think it is a good idea now."

Corzine aides said a new TV commercial exploiting the mistake can be expected soon.

"Literally in this case, with what he has got left at this point, there is no room for error for Florio," said Political analyst Jim McQueeny.

Florio angered many New Jerseyans during his one term as governor by pushing a $2.8 billion tax increase through the legislature shortly after taking office. Although he said the money was needed to pay for a court-mandated school funding program and a recession, the tax hike became synonymous with Florio in many voters' minds.

Using mostly his own money, Corzine, the former chief executive of Goldman Sachs who earned $44 million in 1999, has likely spent between $17 million and $20 million on his campaign thus far.

He refuses to disclose the spending figures even though his staff will have to file an updated report with the Federal Elections Commission this week. As of March 31, he had spent more than $10 million, and he is paying well over $1 million for television ads each week in the two months leading up to the June 6 vote.

Corzine's sums not only eclipse Florio's $1.9 million, they eclipse the combined spending of the two candidates in the 1996 race for U.S. Senate in New Jersey.

So far, Corzine's strategy seems to be paying off. A recent survey by the Quinnipiac College Polling Institute poll showed Corzine with 48 percent of decided voters compared to Florio at 33 percent. Nineteen percent of voters were undecided. The poll, with a margin of error was 5.3 percentage points, was conducted the first week of May and showed a stunning turnaround for Corzine over a March survey that had Florio with a 2-to-1 edge.

"In Washington, this is a pretty high-profile race," said political analyst Stuart Rothenberg, adding that he thought Corzine's spending was "obscene."

"It is out of control," Rothenberg said. "This is a true test of if can you buy a seat. Here comes a guy whose sole ability to put together a campaign is his ability to put in cash."

The gold standard for campaign spending in races for the Senate was set by Republican Michael Huffington of California, a state with four times the population of New Jersey. After spending $5 million to win a House seat in 1992, Huffington blew $28 million in 1994 in a failed bid against Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Corzine may come close to matching that sum just to knock off Florio in the primary on June 6, when Republicans will also choose their nominee for the November race. If Corzine prevails, he will probably spend at least as much again over the following five months against the GOP candidate.

"There definitely has been talk that this race will exceed Huffington, and soon," said Steven Weiss of the Center For Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance.

"Anytime a candidate who basically comes out of nowhere, to raise or to spend that much money to become a viable candidate, that raises the eyebrows of people in Washington," he said.

Florio has gone after Corzine relentlessly for the spending and calling Corzine cowardly for refusing to debate him on television. "If you are going to spend $2 million a week on television beating me up, come and have the guts to discuss (issues)," he said.

Corzine did join in four debates, but two were not televised and the other two were broadcast on minor cable outlets.

"Elections are a contest of ideas, they are not about money," Corzine said. "The fact is that I have the capacity to express my qualifications and talk about ideas that will make a difference in people's lives."

Rider University political analyst David Rebovich said the spending could become a campaign liability in the fall against a Republican opponent, but the mainstream Democratic Party, which backs Corzine, is happy to have his wealth on their side. "Democrats are sitting on their hands as if their lips are sealed," he said. "Money? What money?"

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