N.J. Democrat Is a Target After Breaking From the Pack

A handful of the Democrats at the table, including Rep. Robert E. Andrews, had hoped that the 84-year-old Lautenberg was preparing to retire and give a younger House member a shot at one of New Jersey's few statewide offices. But their ambition -- for that night and the next six years -- was set aside by the time they cracked open the fortune cookies. Two weeks later, Andrews and the six other House Democrats at the dinner publicly declared themselves co-chairmen of Lautenberg's bid to serve in the Senate until he's 90 years old.

Then something very unusual in New Jersey politics occurred. Andrews changed his mind just before the filing deadline and challenged Lautenberg in the June 3 primary. In a strange twist, his wife filed to run for his House seat.

And so began the latest chapter of political warfare in New Jersey, where a man's word is treated as if he is a priest -- or at least a partner in crime -- and no political grudge is ever forgotten.

With help from the Democratic governor, Jon S. Corzine, and Sen. Robert Menendez, the other six House Democrats have launched a furious campaign of retribution against Andrews that has left his fledgling effort with little institutional support beyond his base in South Jersey. The other Garden State Democrats have made it their mission to defeat Andrews in June and destroy any political hopes the ambitious nine-term House member may have.

"The thing is, he didn't keep his word. He reneged on it, and people are going to remember that," said Rep. Frank Pallone.

Andrews, elected to the House at 33, has had his eye on higher office since the mid-1990s, but in a state where the governor and U.S. senators are the only elected statewide officers, the opportunities have been limited. He narrowly lost the gubernatorial primary in 1997, a race that many Democrats said left him embittered for several years over the power local party officials have to sway votes.

So when Lautenberg came out of retirement in 2002 -- the incumbent, Robert G. Torricelli (D), quit his reelection bid amid a corruption scandal -- most state Democrats believed he would be a one-term placeholder. But by the time he summoned his congressional colleagues to the Ritz, Lautenberg was obviously running for another term.

Acknowledging his pledge to Lautenberg, Andrews said Lautenberg has not lived up to his end of the bargain, suggesting he heard reports that Lautenberg was not mounting a "vigorous" campaign. He said a growing number of supporters asked him to run as the filing deadline approached early this month.

Rep. Steve Rothman (D) said Andrews's claim "makes absolutely no sense." Lautenberg had been holding his fire until the general-election season later this year "until Rob Andrews broke his word and entered the primary," Rothman said.

New Jersey Democrats, who have succeeded in every statewide race this decade, believe the winner of their primary will be the heavy favorite in the general election against likely GOP nominee Richard Zimmer, a lobbyist who was a House member until he lost a Senate race in 1996.

Andrews is battling history. No incumbent Senate Democrat has been ousted in a primary in New Jersey in the last 50 years.