Even Republicans praise Democrat's campaign, stirring concern among GOP

By Erik Schelzig
ASSOCIATED PRESS

12:12 a.m. October 10, 2006

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Democrat Harold Ford Jr. has been one of the most effective political candidates this year. Just ask Tennessee Republicans.

“Junior, as I will call him, has done an excellent job of campaigning,” said Jim Melton, 59, of Maryville in east Tennessee. “He has done an excellent job of appearing to be conservative. He is not.”

Melton is backing Ford's Senate rival, Republican Bob Corker, in the highly competitive race to replace Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who decided to forgo another term to concentrate on a possible White House bid.

Tennessee hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1990, and the contest should have been relatively easy for Corker, the former Chattanooga mayor. Not only is Ford trying to buck the state's Republican trend, he is trying to become the first black senator elected in the South since Reconstruction.

Against those odds, the charismatic Ford, a 36-year-old centrist Democrat and five-term congressman, has waged a nearly flawless campaign, combining self-deprecating television ads with solid oratorical skills and a direct appeal to religious conservatives who would typically vote Republican.

In one commercial, Ford walks down the aisle of his Memphis church, sun shining through the stained glass windows, and says: “I started church the old-fashioned way – I was forced to. And I'm better for it.

“Here, I learned the difference between right and wrong,” he says before accusing Republican opponents of “doing wrong,” distorting his record on homeland security and military spending.

He settles into a pew and adds: “I won't let them make me someone I'm not, and I'll always fight for you. Give me that chance.”

Ford's effort is making Republicans nervous.

“We have to get the vote out, or we're going to be in big trouble,” said Doug Grindstaff, a Republican Party chairman in Williamson County, which encompasses the conservative suburbs around Nashville.

“I'm not confident at all,” said Marc Trottier, 44, executive chef at the Nashville Convention Center and a Corker supporter. “That's why I'm going to make sure I get out and vote.”

Polls show the two candidates locked in a tight race with early voting beginning Oct. 18. The outcome of the race is critical to control of the Senate, with Democrats needing to gain six seats to wrest the majority from the GOP. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has spent $1.3 million to help Ford.

In a clear sign of unease, Corker overhauled his campaign late last month, replacing his campaign manager with the chief of staff for Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, hiring a number of Alexander aides and moving his headquarters from Chattanooga to Nashville.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has spent more than $1.4 million on the race, including campaign ads targeting Ford. The Republican National Committee has chipped in $968,325. All this money is separate from the millions Corker has raised.

In one RNC ad, an announcer says: “Border security doesn't just stop illegal immigrants; it stops terrorists. But Ford voted four times against funding for more border agents.”

The ad shows a dark, shadowy figure walking down a hallway. Ford has complained about a Republican attempt to make his race an issue.

Race and family are ever-present for Ford, and he often finds himself answering for the latter. For all the talk of Ford's campaign skills, the two issues stand as major obstacles for him.

Ford comes from a powerful Memphis political family, with eight members who have served as state lawmakers, local politicians or in Congress. His father has 11 siblings, and Ford has said he has 91 first cousins. It is a family touched by scandal.

His father was tried and acquitted on federal bank fraud charges in 1993. His uncle, Emmitt, resigned from the Tennessee House in 1981 after a conviction on insurance fraud. Another uncle, John, resigned from the state Senate last year after being charged with taking $55,000 in bribes. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

In the first of three scheduled debates Saturday, Corker said Ford came from a family engaged in “machine-type politics.” Said Ford, “Let me be clear: I love them.” He urged Corker to stick to the issues.

The two debate again on Tuesday and at the end of this month.

Corker has had President Bush headline two fundraisers in Tennessee to raise $2.6 million. The most recent was off limits to cameras and reporters – perhaps a reflection of Bush's low approval ratings in Tennessee. First lady Laura Bush was scheduled to attend a Corker fundraiser on Wednesday.

In one of his ads, Corker tells his mother, Jean, that he cut violent crime by 50 percent while mayor of Chattanooga.

“Fifty percent? Mmmm, not bad,” Jean Corker responds, before giving her son an affectionate nod.

But analysis of the FBI's annual report, considered to be the most comprehensive source of crime data, shows violent crime dropped less than 30 percent during Corker's administration. That led Democrats to accuse Corker of lying to his own mother.

Ford recently campaigned with Mark Warner, the Democratic former governor of neighboring Virginia and another White House hopeful.

“There's a lot of things you can say about Harold Ford,” Warner said, “but nobody's not going to call him independent.”



Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington contributed to this report.

On the Net:
Ford campaign: www.haroldfordjr.com
Corker campaign: www.bobcorkerforsenate.com

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