Races To Watch

September 26, 2000

While George W. Bush and Al Gore have made Social Security a key issue in the presidential election, there are a number of other campaigns where the debate over privatizing the nation's retirement program could be one of the deciding issues. Among them:

Minnesota: Grams vs. Dayton. Republican Senator Rod Grams is generally considered the most endangered incumbent senator in the nation. He is also the Senate's leading advocate of privatization, supporting a plan that goes far beyond George W. Bush's cautious proposals for partial privatization. Grams' proposal, based on a 1998 book by Cato scholars Michael Tanner and Peter Ferrara, would eventually allow workers to privately invest nearly all of their Social Security payroll taxes. Not surprisingly, the issue has become a major area of contention between Grams and his Democratic opponent, department store heir Mark Dayton. Grams has made his support for privatization one of the centerpieces of his re-election effort, going so far as to bring José Piñera, the architect of Chile's successful privatization and co-chairman of Cato's Social Security project, to Minnesota to campaign with him. Dayton has countered with television ads, calling Grams' plan "risky" and "extreme" and claiming it would "drain" Social Security. Although voters seem to be responding positively to Grams' proposal, the Senator remains hampered by several personal scandals that have sapped his popularity. The race remains very close with recent polls showing the race almost dead even.

Pennsylvania: Santorum vs. Klink. Senator Rick Santorum is another outspoken privatization advocate who was once believed to be politically vulnerable. However, recent polls show Santorum with a strong lead over his Democratic opponent, Congressman Ron Klink. Like Grams, Santorum has been willing to move beyond the two percentage point carve-out supported by George W. Bush, although the senator's proposals fall short of full privatization. Santorum has also been one of the leading advocates of privatization--the Senator prefers the term personalization--as a way to help low-income workers accumulate wealth. Klink is opposed to privatization, declaring that "Social Security is a moral obligation, not just a financial arrangement - and protecting it is too important to be left to the marketplace."

New York: Lazio vs. Clinton. The nation's most watched Senate race, New York provides a clear choice on the issue of Social Security. Although other issues have received more media attention, Congressman Rick Lazio, self-described mainstream candidate, supports partial privatization of the program. Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press Lazio expressed his support for a personal account option. His opponent Hillary Clinton has been far less specific about her plans for Social Security but opposes privatization and calls for using the budget surplus to "preserve" the program. Current polls show Mrs. Clinton with a tiny lead.

Colorado 2nd District: Cox vs. Udall. In Colorado's second congressional district, Carolyn Cox, state chairman of Economic Security 2000, a pro-privatization grassroots organization, is waging an uphill fight against second-term Representative Mark Udall. Cox, a republican, is a nationally known advocate of Social Security privatization and has made the issue the centerpiece of her campaign. Udall, who opposes privatization, is favored over the under-financed Cox, but won reelection in 1998 by only 3 percent of the vote and local observers believe the race could be close.

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