First Lady’s Brother Has Uphill Battle in Senate Bid : Despite having no experience as a candidate, Hugh Rodham says his effort to unseat Republican Connie Mack is not a joke.

After his last day in drug court as a county public defender, Hugh Rodham was on the escalator going down when a judge heading the other way shouted out, “Hey, senator, how’s the campaign going?”

“Well,” replied Rodham in a voice that reverberated off the courthouse walls, “it’s a little like the guy who jumps out of an airplane without a parachute: ‘So far, so good.’ ”

The genial Rodham is the younger brother of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. And the campaign, officially announced Monday on national television, is one in which he seeks to join the U.S. Senate by winning the Democratic nomination and then unseating Florida Republican Connie Mack in November.

But despite his First Brother-in-Law connections and a familiar last name, many here think Rodham, 43, is heading for the same fate as his metaphoric parachutist: a hard landing.

“Based on what we’ve seen from Mr. Rodham so far,” says Mitch Bainwol, a senior aide to Mack, “it’s difficult to see an assistant public defender as a credible candidate for U.S. Senate.” He calls Rodham’s candidacy “a joke” predicated on family ties.

Rodham has no political experience. For the last 13 years he has been an assistant Dade County public defender, most recently toiling in the innovative and often-chaotic drug court begun here by former state attorney Janet Reno, now the U.S. attorney general. And Rodham, a former backup quarterback at Penn State who now is shaped more like a nose guard, is considered an effective advocate of the “tough love” treatment offered to drug abusers hoping for a second chance.

But as celebrated as drug court has been, it has only been since Rodham’s name first surfaced three months ago as a potential political candidate that he had gained much personal attention.

Lately, even Stanley M. Goldstein, who presides over drug court, has been fielding messages. “NBC wants you here at 10 a.m. tomorrow,” the judge told Rodham from the bench Wednesday.

Indeed, much of the publicity Rodham has received seems less than helpful for a man who wants to be taken seriously as a contender for high office. In one national paper, Rodham was compared to actor John Candy and to Norm on TV’s “Cheers.” The lead on another profile reported on a fire that was consuming his car outside his apartment.

Of the publicity, Rodham says: “It could have been better, it could have been worse. I wish they hadn’t put in the thing about my car, but it is a fact. It’s a ’77 Caddy, a keepsake from my father, and it did burn up.”

As for the comparisons to overweight actors: “Well, I think John Candy is a fine actor, a comedic guy. And Norm on ‘Cheers,’ I like him, too. But if that’s all they think, they’re in for a long, hot summer.”

Some of the irreverence that has greeted Rodham’s announcement of his intentions may be rooted in history. When assessing political capital, President Jimmy Carter’s brother, Billy, Ronald Reagan’s children Ron and Patti, and Clinton’s brother Roger have all been listed on the debit side.

Rodham, a political novice with little money and a bare-bones organization, is a big target, especially for Republicans who see his candidacy as a chance to attack the Clintons.

The Clintons evidently see that chance as well. On CNN’s “Larry King Live” Monday, Rodham all but admitted that the First Family tried to talk him out of the race.

His sister, Rodham said, was only “cautiously optimistic.” As for the President, “He said, ‘It’s not a horrible idea.’ ”

The early poll numbers aren’t good. In a recent Mason-Dixon poll, Mack wins with 56% of the vote to 16% for Rodham when they go head to head. And Mack has more than $2 million in the bank.

With the odds seemingly so high in Mack’s favor, Rodham is the only Democrat to have entered the primary so far.

Says Mason-Dixon pollster Bob Joffee: “It’s a very long, steep climb. We feel Mack looks like one of the least vulnerable incumbents seeking reelection this year.”

But Michael Copperthite, Rodham’s campaign manager, cites other numbers, those that had Mack winning his Senate seat in 1988 by the narrowest margin in Florida history while George Bush swept the state handily. “We’re going to run a very competitive campaign,” Copperthite vows.

Rodham met with the Clintons last week in Washington after taking part in a demonstration by Cuban Americans in support of the embargo against Cuba. Rodham’s wife, attorney Maria Victoria Arias, is Cuban American.

“I don’t want or expect any special favors,” Rodham said. “My sister is who she is, the President is who he is, and I am like I am. If people can’t see that, then I better get out of the race.”

When asked about critics’ charges that he is merely trading on his name, he bristled: “They don’t know anything about me. They don’t know my ideas. I’m more educated than all of them. But I’m an unknown commodity, and they want to pigeonhole me.”

Rodham’s positions are largely works in progress, he admits, although he expects to concentrate on crime, the top concern of voters everywhere.

As he kicks off his statewide campaign today, Rodham has picked up the endorsement of the Cuban American Democratic Council and the man who has worked with him down at the courthouse for the last five years.

“He is a great guy,” says Goldstein. “I like him, and it sure wouldn’t hurt the drug court to have him in Washington.”