Rostenkowski Takes Narrow Lead in 1st Votes

Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, took a narrow early lead in preliminary returns Tuesday in a Democratic primary that was the toughest race of his long political life.

Rostenkowski’s main challengers were state Sen. John Cullerton and former Chicago alderman Dick Simpson, who charged that the 66-year-old congressman was tainted by Washington corruption and out of touch with his district. Chicago alderman Michael Wojcik and a fifth candidate, John McCarthy, who did not campaign actively, also were on the ballot.

With 2% of precincts reporting, Rostenkowski had 610 votes or 44%, Cullerton had 460 votes or 33%, Simpson had 226 votes or 16%, and Wojcik and McCarthy split the remaining 6%.

Turnout in the primary was low here--an estimated 39% of the electorate in the city and about 30% in nearby suburbs, despite a mild spring day with temperatures in the mid-40s.

Most observers had considered the five-way contest too close to call because polls showed that nearly one-fourth of all voters were undecided.

A two-year federal grand jury investigation of Rostenkowski, centering on allegations that he converted $22,000 worth of postage stamps to pocket cash through the House Post Office, severely hurt his chances of winning a 19th term in the House.

Only a month ago, his advisers said, his poll numbers were so low that he did not have a chance to win the primary, which usually means election in heavily Democratic Chicago.

But a campaign visit by President Clinton two weeks ago and endorsements from other big-name Democrats raised Rostenkowski’s hopes.

His skill at putting together compromises on the Ways and Means panel is considered essential by some experts to Clinton’s hopes of passing health care and welfare reform legislation this year.

Rostenkowski, who has headed the committee since 1981, has indicated that he will not run for reelection in 1996 but has said that he wants to cap his career in Congress by helping to enact a national health care bill.

David Axelrod, political consultant for Rostenkowski’s campaign, said before vote-counting started that he was “cautiously optimistic” of a victory for the 35-year House veteran.

Axelrod said that a poll conducted by the campaign last Thursday indicated that Rostenkowski would get 38% of the vote, with 21% going to Cullerton, 11% to Simpson and 9% split between the other candidates. But the 23% of undecided votes was unusually large at this stage of a campaign where the incumbent is so widely known and could indicate that he would be unlikely to get most of those votes.

A relatively low turnout coupled with all-out backing by the Chicago Democratic machine, which favors Rostenkowski, could help the veteran congressman win the election.

A spokeswoman for Cullerton, however, said that the turnout was high in areas considered favorable to the 45-year-old state senator, who was counting on an anti-incumbent mood to help him pull off an upset victory.

“We’re expecting a long night,” the spokeswoman said.

Simpson, who racked up 43% of the vote when he opposed Rostenkowski in 1992, hoped for heavy support from undecided voters.

During the campaign, Rostenkowski delivered several federal grants to the city and campaigned as the man who could do more than his opponents for the city and the state.

The delivery of an Army surplus helicopter--a gift to Chicago’s Fire Department rescue team from the Pentagon--was announced on the day before the election. Earlier, Rostenkowski announced a $4-million neighborhood office for the Social Security Administration and a $6-million Job Corps center in another congressional district here.

Clinton’s visit two weeks ago, plus an endorsement by the dominant Chicago Tribune and active support from Mayor Richard M. Daley, all were enormously important to reviving the once-dormant Rostenkowski campaign, Axelrod said.

“They created a permission structure for people who have been traumatized by all the bad publicity,” Axelrod said.

Rostenkowski voted early Tuesday at a polling place near his home on the near Northwest side.

“Elections come and go,” he told reporters. But, “if you’re a legislator, you want to legislate.”