Down 13 percentage points, Sen. Robert Torricelli dropped out of his re-election bid for U.S. Senate on Monday. The New Jersey Democrat left his party without a candidate only 36 days before the Nov. 5 election, which is pivotal in the Democrats' retaining their one seat lead in the Senate. While Democrats scramble for a candidate to fill the senator's shoes, New Jersey Republicans have made it clear they will fight any effort to bring forth a new candidate, citing a New Jersey law that prohibits such actions so close to an election. The law clearly mandates a time frame in which a candidate may be replaced by another nominee, and the New Jersey Democrats have no grounds for trying to bypass election rules or appeal for an exception.
New Jersey law allows for new candidates to replace dropouts up to 48 days before an election. If the Democrats were to submit a new candidate today, they would be two weeks too late. Democrats, however, say they will appeal to the state attorney general to be allowed an extension.
Appealing for an extension, however, just defeats the purpose of even having election laws. The law says dropouts cannot be replaced less than 48 days away from an election; therefore, that must not be allowed to happen. Election guidelines such as this ensure that voters are given a chance to fully evaluate the candidates. If candidates were allowed to be switched at any time before an election, voters couldn't really learn about a candidate and thus would be prevented from making an informed decision.
Parties must not be allowed special circumstances simply because their candidate waited too long to tender his resignation. If any exceptions were to be made, they would simply invalidate the laws that govern elections. If an exception is made to allow special accommodations for an election, the line between what is legal and what is not becomes progressively blurrier. This cannot be allowed to happen. Compromising even one election law opens the floodgates to making exceptions and bending the rules for every election law. If this happens, then there is nothing keeping elections from becoming shady back room deals reminiscent of the widespread political corruption of the early 20th century.
Aside from the fact that exceptions should not be made to election laws, Torricelli and the New Jersey Democrats don't even have good cause to file for an exception.
Torricelli, a one-term senator, was admonished this summer by the Senate Ethics Committee after a series of allegations that he accepted illegal gifts from a campaign contributor. Although he apologized for his actions, his campaign was marred and the scandal quickly gave his opponent, Republican Doug Forrester, a strong lead in the race.
This scandal has clearly been the death of re-election hopes for Torricelli. It was a death, however, that Torricelli could have prevented. Torricelli created this situationfor himself and for his party the minute he decided to ignore election guidelines. Torricelli even took responsibility for his actions following his admonishment by the Senate Ethics Committee and their decision that he illegally received three gifts from David Chang, a former ally now serving time in prison for violating federal campaign laws. Following the committee's decision in July, Torricelli said, "I agree with the committee's conclusions, fully accept their findings and take full personal responsibility." The Democrats should not be able to just pick someone new because their first choice turned out to have a few skeletons in his closet.
That is what primaries are for -- to pick the candidate one thinks will best help his or her party win an office. Democratic voters still chose Torricelli even after seven people pleaded guilty to making illegal donations to his first senatorial campaign.
They made their decision, and now they must face the consequences. Torricelli was admonished by the Senate, he lost public support, and now he is trying to back out in a desperate ploy to help his party retain his seat. Torricelli's opponent, Doug Forrester, said it best: "The laws of the state of New Jersey do not include we-think-we're-going-to-lose-so-we-get-to-pick-someone-new clause." An appeal won't work; it is too late.
Had Torricelli backed out just 14 short days ago, he would have given his party a fighting chance. But the senator waited too long, so his party must pay the consequences for that decision. They can't be allowed to bend the law, no matter how important the election is in deciding the national senatorial majority.
During his resignation speech, Torricelli remarked that he "could not stand the pain if any failing on my part will do damage to the things and the people that I have fought for all of my life."
It already has, senator. If the allegations are true, your decision to take illegal gifts forever marred your political legacy and ended what could have been a promising senatorial career working for the people you have always fought for. More importantly, however, your choice to wait to resign gave your party no opportunity to offer an opponent to Forrester, and ensured that Senate seat would become a Republican one.
(Maggie Bowden is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)