Who Wants To Beat A Millionaire?

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 rival Jim Florio in a U.S. Senate campaign that's on track to break national spending records.

Using mostly his own money, Corzine, the former chief executive of Goldman Sachs, who earned $44 million in 1999, has already spent an estimated $17 million to $20 million on his campaign.

Corzine's sum not only eclipses Florio's $1.9 million, it surpasses the combined spending of the two candidates in the 1996 New Jersey Senate race.

So far, the multimillionare's strategy seems to be paying off. A recent survey by the Quinnipiac College Polling Institute poll shows Corzine leading Florio 48 to 33 percent among decided voters. The early May poll, with a margin of error was 5.3 percentage points, showed a stunning turnaround for Corzine over a March survey that had Florio with a 2-to-1 edge.

"It is out of control," says political analyst Stuart Rothenberg. "This is a true test of 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 Senate races 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 money against the GOP candidate.

"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," said Steven Weiss of the Center For Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign spending.

"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 onetime Navy boxer had hoped to score a knockdown punch against his inexperienced foe.

Instead, Florio gave Corzine an advantage by getting caught on a flip-flop 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 idein 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.

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