Unanue Prepared to Self-Finance
When Anne Estabrook left the New Jersey Senate race earlier this month, it appeared as though the slim hope we had of capturing Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s seat had all but disappeared. Only professor Murray Sabrin and state Sen. Joe Pennacchio remained in the race, and neither one had raised nearly enough money to wage a competitive race against the octogenarian. In recent days, though, Andy Unanue has emerged as a new candidate hoping to reinvigorate the NJGOP.
Unanue is a former executive of Goya Foods and currently serves as President of a managing and consulting firm. He is fluent in Spanish and less than half the age of the incumbent, who has already retired from the Senate once. More importantly, Unanue has announced his intentions to at least partially self-finance his own campaign. What “partially” means is an open question, though he has been advised that he will need between $7 million and $15 million to be competitive. He must enter the race knowing how difficult it will be to raise money for what is at best a second-tier pick-up opportunity, so he should be prepared to invest several million dollars in the race.
As to his issue positions, Unanue has been cast early as a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. What exactly that means will be fleshed out within the coming weeks and months. What is known is that he has contributed to both Rep. Xavier Becerra and Sen. Mel Martinez. Thus far, he has spoken out about the war, saying that it is winnable but that we need to bring out troops home as soon as possible, and Cuba, about which he said we must see how Raul Castro governs before normalizing trade.
Unanue enters the race the favorite for the nomination but an underdog for the general election. If he is to have a chance, he must be willing to spend his own money freely and define himself before Lautenberg defines him for the voters of New Jersey. He may also need some sort of weakness from Lautenberg, a demonstration that he is either physically or mentally no longer capable of serving in the Senate. His best bet is to put Lautenberg on the defensive, attacking his record on fiscal matters and trying to force him to defend his record publicly in an attempt to force some errors on the part of the incumbent. For his part, look for Lautenberg to avoid anything except puff media opportunities and to focus heavily on fundraising in hopes of outspending the challenger, or perhaps simply convincing him that it is not worth spending enough money to be competitive.
This race is a long way from competitive, but it’s not too close to over yet either. It will be interesting to see just how much Unanue is willing to spend. Whether it can be competitive if he spends freely is an open question, but he most certainly cannot win if he is going to hold back at all.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
“Unanue enters the race the favorite for the nomination”
“This race is a long way from competitive”
How exactly have you determined that he is suddenly the favorite? What arbitrary method was used to calculate this?
The man has been in the race for a blink of an eye, and suddenly he is going to win the nomination? Other than “self financing” his campaign, you have absolutely nothing to base this claim on.
Sabrin is certainly a viable candidate with plenty of name recognition and support for his ideas. I would love to see a follow up post that documents the criteria that have suddenly hurled Mr. Unanue into the lead.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I don’t know where you get your information from but all the media reports are talking about how he got kicked out of the family job and now he runs a nightclub in nyc. This guy is a joke!
March 25th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Brian, I like Sabrin, but he doesn’t have the money to compete if Unanue is serious about dropping millions into his campaign. To be sure, it has happened in the past that millionaire candidates have decided that it was just too costly to run a serious race and dropped out, and if that happens Sabrin has a chance. When you’re in a state that’s split between two of the most expensive media markets in the country, your campaign has to be well-financed. At this point, Sabrin hasn’t even filed a campaign finance report, which candidates are required to do once they have raised $5000.
What’s more is that Unanue is already lining up in-state support from Cape May to Monmouth and party leaders are excited to have someone who will self-finance. They also expect that Unanue will make inroads in the Hispanic community and like the fact that he is less than half of Lautenberg’s age. Sabrin’s recent pledge to resign from the Senate in September of 2010 if the troops aren’t home from Iraq doesn’t help his chances, as many Republicans would view this as simply electing a Republican for less than two years of a six year term. If he had a real chance, he probably blew it with that.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
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March 26th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Sean…this guy has proven nothing other than that he has a big check book. Good for him, he can out spend anyone…he also got handed a job by his family that he also got fired from…when your family fires you, that says something. Now he owns a few night clubs…whoopie for him. THIS is not what I want as a leader for my state.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
So now that we find out that he lives at home with his parents, there are implications of voter and insurance fraud, are you STILL sure this guy is “the favorite?”
Pathetic how people will elevate someone to that level without knowing a damn thing about him. Lets focus on a candidate who actually has principles and is an absolute authority about our biggest issue, the economy….Mr. Sabrin is who you should be touting as the favorite.