Embattled senator pulls out of race

TRENTON, N.J. -- Dogged by questions about his ethics and falling in the polls, Democratic Sen. Robert Torricelli abruptly dropped his bid for a second term Monday, throwing a twist into the battle for the Senate just five weeks before Election Day.\nDemocratic officials said they would announce a new candidate within 48 hours, but a court fight seemed assured. Republican officials said they would challenge any attempt to replace Torricelli this close to the election.\nThe embattled incumbent, who has been in Congress for nearly 20 years, was admonished over the summer by the Senate ethics committee, which investigated allegations he had accepted lavish gifts from a campaign contributor. He has denied any wrongdoing.\nTorricelli, 51, fought back tears as he announced his decision, noting that he had become an "issue" in the fight for the Senate, where Democrats hold a one-seat majority.\n"I could not stand the pain if any failing on my part will do damage to the things and the people that I have fought for all of my life," Torricelli said with Gov. James E. McGreevey and Sen. Jon Corzine standing by his side.\n"Don't feel badly for me," he added. "I've changed people's lives. I'm proud of every day of it, and I wouldn't change a bit of it."\nNorm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington said he couldn't recall another time an incumbent senator had dropped out of a race so close to an election.\n"Something like this is really unprecedented," he said.\nHarrison "Pete" Williams, a New Jersey Democrat, resigned his Senate seat in March 1982, three months before the primary. The Senate was considering expelling Williams on ethics violations.