“At a press conference held this morning at City Hall the State’s Attorney announced that he’s a candidate.”
“Ralph Brooks to Run for Senate” ran the banner headline across the afternoon editions of the newspapers of Illinois, Many reporters mentioned in their columns that Florentyna had not yet made a decision on whether she would challenge the State’s Attorney. Once again pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks stared up at Florentyna. The damn man seems to get better-looking all the time, she grumbled. Edward called from New York to say he thought she should run but advised her to hold back until the Brooks publicity machine ran out of steam. “You might even be able to orchestrate your announcement so that it looks as if you are bowing to public pressure.”
“Whom are the party faithful backing?”
“My estimate is sixty-forty in your favor, but since I’m no longer even a committeeman it’s hard to predict. Don’t forget it’s over a year to the primary so there’s no need to rush in, especially now that Brooks has made his move. You can sit back and wait until the time suits you.”
“Why do you think he announced so early?”
“To try and frighten you off, I suppose. Maybe he figures you might hold back until 1984.”
“Perhaps that’s a good idea.”
“No, I don’t agree. Never forget what happened to John Culver in Iowa. He decided to wait because he felt it would be easier later when weaker opposition was around, so his personal assistant ran instead of him, won the seat and remains in the Senate till this day.”
“I’ll think about it, and let you know.”
The truth was that Florentyna thought of little else during the next few weeks, because she knew that if she could beat Brooks this time, he would be finished once and for all. She was in no doubt that Ralph Brooks still had ambitions that stretched about sixteen blocks beyond the Senate. On Janet’s advice, she now accepted every major invitation to speak in the state and turned down almost all other outside commitments. “That will give you a chance to find out how the land lies,” said Janet.
“Keep nagging me, Janet.”
“Don’t worry, I will. That’s what you pay me for.”
Florentyna found herself flying to Chicago twice a week for nearly six months and her voting record in Congress was barely above sixty percent. Ralph Brooks had the advantage of not living in Washington four days a week or having his record in court expressed in percentage terms. Added to that, Chicago had elected Jane Byrne mayor the previous year. There were those who said one woman in Illinois politics was quite enough. Nevertheless, Florentyna felt confident after she had covered most of the state that Edward had been right, that she did have a 60–40 chance of defeating Ralph Brooks. In truth, she believed that defeating Brooks might be harder than getting elected to the Senate because the midterm election traditionally ran against the White House incumbent.
One day Florentyna did leave clear in her diary was for the annual meeting of the Vietnam Veterans of America. They had chosen Chicago for their celebrations and invited Senator John Tower of Texas and Florentyna to be the keynote speakers. The Illinois press was quick to point out the respect with which outsiders treated their favorite daughter. The paper went on to say that the very fact that the vets could couple her with the chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee was high praise indeed.
Florentyna was carrying a full load in the House. She successfully sponsored the “Good Samaritan” amendment to the Superfund Act making it advantageous for companies that put forth genuine efforts to dispose of toxic wastes. To her surprise even Bob Buchanan supported her amendment.
While she was leaning on the rail at the back of the chamber waiting for the vote on the final passage of her amendment, he told her that he hoped she would run for the Senate seat.
“You’re only saying that because you want to see me out of this place.”
He chuckled. “That would have been one compensation, I must admit, but I don’t think you can stay here much longer if you’re destined to live in the White House.”
Florentyna looked at him in astonishment. He didn’t even glance toward her but continued to gaze into the packed chamber.
“I have no doubt you’ll get there. I just thank God I won’t be alive to witness your inauguration,” he continued before going off to vote for Florentyna’s amendment.
Whenever Florentyna went to Chicago she avoided the question of her candidacy for the Senate, although it was obviously on everyone else’s mind. Edward pointed out to her that if she did not run this time it might be her last chance for twenty years because Ralph Brooks was still only forty-four and it would be virtually impossible to defeat him once he was the incumbent.
“Especially when he has ‘the Brooks charisma,’” mocked Florentyna in reply. “In my case,” she continued, “who would be willing to wait twenty years?”
“Harold Stassen,” Edward replied.
Florentyna laughed. “And everyone knows how well he did. I’ll have to make up my mind one way or the other before I speak to the Vietnam Vets.”
Florentyna and Richard were spending the weekend at Cape Cod and were joined by Edward on Saturday evening.
Late into the night they discussed every alternative facing Florentyna as well as the effect it would have on Edward’s work at the Baron if he was to head up the campaign. When they retired to bed in the early hours of Sunday morning they had come to one conclusion.
The International Room of the Conrad Hilton was packed with two thousand men, and the only other women in sight were waitresses. Richard had accompanied Florentyna to Chicago and was seated next to Senator Tower. When Florentyna rose to address the gathering, she was trembling. She began by assuring the vets of her commitment to a strong America and then went on to tell them of her pride in her father when he had been awarded the Bronze Star by President Truman, and of her greater pride in them for having served their country in America’s first unpopular war. The veterans whistled and banged their tables in delight. She reminded them of her commitment to the MX missile system and her determination that Americans would live in fear of no one, especially the Soviets.
“I want Moscow to know,” she said, “that there may be some men in Congress who would be happy to compromise America’s position, but not this woman.” The vets cheered again. “The isolationist campaign that President Reagan is pursuing will not help Poland in its present crisis or whichever nation the Russians decide to attack next. At some point we must stand firm and not wait until the Soviets are camped along the Canadian border.” Even Senator Tower showed his approval of that sentiment. Florentyna waited for complete silence before saying, “I have chosen tonight, while I am assembled with a group of people whom everyone in America admires, to say that as long as there are men and women who are willing to serve their country as you have done, I hope to continue to serve in the public life of this great nation, and to that end I intend to submit my name as a candidate for the United States Senate.”
Few people in the room heard the word “Senate,” because pandemonium broke out. Everyone in the gathering who could stand, stood, and those who couldn’t banged their tables. Florentyna ended her address with the words “I pledge myself to an America that does not fear war from any aggressor. At the same time, I pray that you are the last group of veterans this country ever needs.”
When she sat down, the cheering lasted for several minutes and Senator Tower went on to praise Florentyna for one of the finest speeches he had ever heard.
Edward flew in from New York to mastermind the campaign wh
ile Janet kept in daily touch from Washington. Money flowed in from every quarter, the work that Florentyna had put in for her constituents was now beginning to pay off. With twelve weeks to go to the primary, the polls consistently showed a 58–42 lead for candidate Kane across the state.
All through the campaign, Florentyna’s staffers were willing to work late into the night, but even they could not arrange for her to be in two places at once. Ralph Brooks criticized her voting record along with the lack of real results she had achieved as a representative in Congress. Some of his attacks began to hit home while Brooks continued to show the energy of a ten-year-old. Despite this, he didn’t seem to make much headway as the polls settled around 55–45 in her favor. Word reached Florentyna that Ralph Brooks’s camp was feeling despondent and his campaign contributions were drying up.
Richard flew into Chicago every weekend and the two of them lived out of suitcases, often sleeping in the homes of downstate volunteers. One of Florentyna’s younger campaign workers drove them tirelessly around the state in a small blue Chevette. Florentyna was shaking hands outside factory gates on the outskirts of cities before breakfast, attending farmers’ meetings in the rural towns of Illinois before lunch, but somehow she still found time to fit in occasional banking associations and editorial boards in Chicago during the afternoon before an inevitable evening speech and a welcome night at the Baron. During the same period she made one exception and never missed the monthly meetings of the Remagen Trust.