American Politics Journal -- Coverdell Death Triggers Senate Scramble



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Coverdell Death Triggers Senate Scramble
by Dave "Doctor" Gonzo

Monday, July 24, 2000 -- New York (AmpolNS) -- The news footage The Doc saw late Wednesday and early Thursday -- of Senate luminaries from both sides of the aisle expressing genuine and open grief over the death of Paul Coverdell -- hardly came as a surprise.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) did his best to choke back tears as he paid tribute to his fallen colleague. Phil Gramm (R-TX), usually one of the most loquacious conservatives in the Senate, was overcome with emotion. Pat Moynihan (D-NY) also gave an eloquent tribute to Coverdell from the well of the Senate.

All of these men were deeply and truly saddened by the unexpected death of Coverdell, who died late Tuesday in Atlanta from a massive cerebral hemorrhage the Senator had suffered just over a week ago.

Coverdell was an ardently conservative Republican, and a Democrat Senate staffer described him to the Doc as "soft-spoken, courtly, and a gentleman... it wasn't just a matter of the Democrat caucus having 'got on well' with him. He was friendly, likeable, a genuinely nice guy. He had a lot of friends on the Democrat side of the aisle."

The Doc can also tell you that once the tears have stopped, the GOP faces a sobering reality: Georgia law requires that the state's Democratic governor, Roy Barnes, appoint an interim Senator until a special election can be held.

That person will be a Democrat.

Many candidates have been mentioned in the press this week. Rep. John Lewis has said he'd like to fill the seat; other media outlets seem to be focusing on former Democratic congressman Buddy Darden, but American Politics Journal has learned that entrepreneur Michael Coles is under serious consideration.

That's one less Senate seat for the GOP -- and the Republicans realize that the possibility that they may lose their majority come November is now very real. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has been spending the last four days scrambling to rethink their strategy.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has been putting in their own overtime; late last week, a senior DSCC staffer told Ampol that "we believe we can take back the Senate." Another said that their internal polling shows "Republicans...enormously vulnerable in the Senate, and even moreso in the House than they were in '98."

Now, even The Doc gets a bit skeptical of pumped-up optimism, but one DSCC staffer understand the importance of the last few days' events: "Senator Covedell's death could not have come at a more pivotal time in this election cycle...it will affect a huge number of Senate votes, yes, but it also raises the stakes. We have a lock on the House -- even the GOP realizes that -- but a reversal of fortune for the Senate in November looks real. [DSCC Chair] Torricelli's pilling out all the stops, and the momentum is building. The biiig mo!"