This summertime Christmas brought Ford an unwelcome gift: a strong foe with crossover appeal and a big bank account. Corker–who leads Ford in most polls–has spent more than $2 million of his own cash already. His plan: to paint Ford, the son of a congressman, as a liberal, insider elitist. “Ford grew up in D.C.,” Corker tells NEWSWEEK. “I more fully represent the values of this state.”
Tennessee remains the toughest of the six swing seats that Dems must win to retake the Senate–in part, experts say, because of Ford’s race. Still, some Dems think history is on their side. At a Ford fund-raiser in Nashville last week, Bill Clinton told the multiethnic crowd that it looked “a lot different than if we had this rally 30 years ago.” But he added–to wild applause– “so does our candidate.”
