Ferraro Falters, Finishes 2nd in New York Senate Contest

Voters wrote an apparent ending Tuesday to the political career of former vice presidential candidate Geraldine A. Ferraro, who lost New York’s Democratic senatorial primary to veteran Brooklyn Rep. Charles E. Schumer.

The former co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire” started her campaign ahead in the polls because of her name recognition as Walter F. Mondale’s running mate in 1984, but she slipped badly after a lackluster effort marked by mediocre fund-raising.

“My campaign for U.S. Senate ends, and for any future elective office,” said Ferraro, 63, whom President Clinton had appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. “I want you to know I will continue to speak up on issues I believe in.”

Schumer, a 47-year-old Harvard Law School graduate and sponsor of the Brady Bill requiring a waiting period on handgun purchases, will challenge Republican Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato in November.

“Al D’Amato has been in the Senate too long,” Schumer told cheering supporters. “New York cannot trust Al D’Amato to do the right thing.”

With 87% of precincts reporting, Schumer had 51% of the vote; Ferraro had 25%; New York City Public Advocate Mark Green had 19%; and Eric Melendez was trailing the pack.

City Council Speaker F. Peter Vallone easily won the right to challenge Republican Gov. George Pataki in the general election.

Surveys leading up to the election showed Ferraro trailing Schumer, who raised almost $13 million, vastly outspending his opponents.

Before the vote, Ferraro said--and repeated after losing--that she would not run again if voters rejected her.

“Ferraro has turned out to be a fizzle. She peaked the day she announced,” said Mitchell Moss, director of the Taub Urban Research Center at New York University. “She did not generate any interest.”

Defeating D’Amato will be a formidable task for Schumer. The veteran senator has amassed a $21.8-million war chest, and already is airing commercials capitalizing on the role he played in the recent $1.25-billion settlement between Swiss bankers and Holocaust survivors.

Polls taken before the election also showed Vallone the favorite to face Pataki, who is seeking a second term in office after defeating Gov. Mario M. Cuomo four years ago.

Vallone’s candidacy soared after the millionaire husband of rival candidate Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross closed his wallet on her campaign.

So strained was the relationship between Pataki and his running mate that she shifted parties, be coming a Democrat, in the hope of ousting him from office.

David Garth, a veteran political consultant who has helped elect three New York mayors, said the sex scandal swirling around Clinton was at least partly to blame for the expected low voter turnout in the statewide races. “Scandals make much better television than paid commercials,” Garth said. “Obviously, the electorate has Monica [S. Lewinsky] on the mind.”

Adding to the malaise was the fact that the Senate campaign was basically a three-peas-in-a-pod primary, with few differences in the positions of the candidates.

All the major Democratic contenders favored affordable health care and the right of patients to sue their health maintenance organizations, college tuition tax credits, and stronger financial support for public schools.

But unlike Ferraro and Schumer, Green opposed the death penalty.

The tone of the campaign was far different from 1992, when Ferraro faced blistering attacks about her husband’s business relationships. This time, the three Democratic candidates focused largely on D’Amato, who is seeking his fourth term in the Senate.

As the only woman to run on a major party’s presidential ticket, Ferraro was treated like a celebrity at some appearances. At the same time, she faced critics who asked why she was seeking elective office after an absence of 14 years.

Schumer tried to cast himself in the mold of two earlier New York Democratic senators: Robert F. Kennedy and Robert F. Wagner Sr.

Underscoring that theme, the Brooklyn congressman ran with the slogan: “He’ll make New York proud again” and challenged D’Amato by charging, “You cannot name a single piece of legislation he’s passed in 18 years.”