Lautenberg Won't Run Again

Sen. Frank Lautenberg had a change of heart and announced Wednesday he will not seek a fourth term in 2000, saying he didn't want to spent the next two years raising money for another campaign.

Lautenberg, 75, becomes the second veteran Democrat not to seek re-election in 2000, joining New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The departures create opportunities for the Republicans, who have a 55-45 advantage in the Senate, to capture open seats.

"I weighed the option of spending two years primarily fund-raising for my election against spending full time on the job," Lautenberg said in a statement. "I decided that's not what I want to do. I've come down on the side of continuing my work for the people of New Jersey."

Lautenberg has been known for a liberal voting record and support of President Clinton's programs. In 1984, he successfully pushed a measure making 21 the legal drinking age in all 50 states, and in 1990, he sponsored legislation that banned smoking on domestic airline flights.

He had insisted for months that he wanted to win another term in hopes of becoming a committee chairman should Democrats win back the Senate.

During a November trip through world hot spots, including the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia, Lautenberg said that his hectic schedule should put to rest any thoughts that he was too old to seek a fourth term.

Ultimately, he said, he decided to spend his remaining time in office working on legislation. High on Lautenberg's agenda is a bill, endorsed by President Clinton, to require background checks when firearms are purchased at gun shows.

Lautenberg said that to run an effective campaign, he would have to raise $125,000 a week for the rest of his term. However, he said he believed he would have won if he ran in 2000.

Though she has given no public sign of interest in the seat, Gov. Christie Whitman is often mentioned as a possible GOP candidate for Senate in 2000. Whitman issued a statement Wednesday saying Lautenberg's announcement would have no bearing on whether she runs.

Lautenberg, a resident of Montclair, earned millions as founder of Automatic Data Processing, a payroll services company, before entering politics in 1982.

That year he won an open Senate seat by defeating the late Republican Rep. Millicent Fenwick, the model for Lacey Davenport in the Doonesbury comic strip. That campaign, and his two subsequent re-election victories, gave him a reputation as a bruising and aggressive campaigner.

Lautenberg is the senior Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations, Environment and Public Works and Intelligence committees.

Written By Amy Westfeldt, Associated Press Writer