WASHINGTON, D.C. - Already, New Jersey Sen. Jon Corzine has had one nugget of welcome news in his uphill battle to lead Democrats to majority status in the Senate. <br>
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Sen. Tom Daschle's decision last week to seek a fourth term in the Senate, rather than run for president, means South Dakota is one less potential battleground where Democrats will need to find a strong candidate. <br>
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But the challenges are building as well. <br>
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As the new chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Corzine needs to protect the Georgia seat that Sen. Zell Miller announced he will vacate after 2004. And Democrats would need another candidate in North Carolina if Sen. John Edwards decides to abandon a bid for a second term and concentrate solely on running for the Democratic presidential nomination. <br>
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``A key part of this job is making sure you have the right candidates,'' Corzine said in an interview Friday. <br>
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Named DSCC chairman last month, Corzine makes his first fund-raising and strategy development trip next weekend, visiting six cities in three days. <br>
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The two-year election cycle leading up to the 2004 election has barely begun, and the Democratic Party's bid to defeat President Bush is the leading story line. <br>
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But with Republicans effectively holding a 51-49 majority in the Senate, Corzine has a central role in what may be Democrats' best chance to regain control of part of the federal government. <br>
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Many factors are lined up against him. Democrats have 19 Senate seats to defend, compared to 15 for Republicans. Of the Democratic seats, eight are in states won by President Bush in 2000. <br>
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And, pending court challenges, the new ban on unregulated ``soft money'' donations to parties will be in effect for the first time. Democrats have traditionally excelled at raising ``soft money'' Corzine himself was a leading soft money donor before joining the Senate, and remained so during his first two years in office while Republicans have the edge in raising ``hard money.'' <br>
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When former New Jersey Sen. Robert Torricelli led the DSCC for the 2000 election cycle, he purposely recruited several wealthy candidates capable of funding their own campaigns so he could concentrate party money on other candidates who most needed it. <br>
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Among Torricelli's picks was Corzine, who had made a fortune during a long career on Wall Street. Corzine plowed a record $60 million into his own winning campaign for Senate. <br>
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But Corzine noted that a similar strategy might be less successful this time around. The new campaign finance law that took effect after last November's elections includes a provision that raises contribution limits for congressional candidates if their self-financed opponents hit a certain spending threshold. <br>
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The provision is known as the ``millionaire amendment,'' and though Corzine voted for it, he knows his record spending in 2000 might have brought it about. <br>
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``I suspect when I'm not around they'll call it the `Corzine amendment,''' he said with a chuckle. <br>
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For now, Corzine's chief concerns include holding Democratic seats in potentially tough races in southern states. <br>
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In South Carolina, 81-year-old Sen. Ernest Hollings is mulling whether to seek an eighth term. Corzine said Hollings is expected to decide by April. <br>
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North Carolina law allows Edwards, a former trial attorney who joined the Senate in 2000, to run simultaneously for president and for a second term in 2004. Corzine, unlike many political professionals, said he suspects Edwards will run for both offices, relieving Democrats of the need to find another potential Senate winner there. <br>
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And in Georgia, Corzine said he is confident Democrats have ``a very deep bench'' of talented candidates who could run in place of Miller and win. <br>
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Among the names he mentioned: Rep. John Lewis, the veteran congressman known for his leading role in the civil rights movement, and former Sen. Max Cleland, who was narrowly defeated in November.
