RIP, Bob Franks

Some sad news this afternoon for those who follow New Jersey politics. Former GOP Congressman Bob Franks has died after a brief illness.

Former Rep. Bob Franks, a well-respected Republican who led the state GOP but lost races for governor and U.S. Senate, died late Friday night after a brief battle with an aggressive form of cancer, a family spokesman said this morning.

Franks, 58, was widely credited for the resurgence of the state Republican Party after the election of Gov. Jim Florio in 1989. He went on to represent Central Jersey's 7th Congressional District in Washington, which includes large parts of Somersert, Hunterdon andUnion and a small part of Middlesex County.

He has most recently led the Health Care Institute of New Jersey.

"Bob's love of New Jersey and of our country resulted in a meaningful life dedicated to public service, as a state assemblyman, United States congressman, state party chairman and finally as an advocate for affordable quality health care for all," said Mike DuHaime, a former aide to Franks who is acting as family spokesman. "His generosity of time, care for others and boundless spirit inspired a generation of those in public life. While his passing deeply saddens all who knew him, we have been so enriched by having had him in our lives."

DuHaime said Franks' wife was at the former congressman's side when he died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.

“Bob Franks was an American patriot," said Gov. Chris Christie in a statement. "Not only was Bob a great Assemblyman and Congressman, but he was also an outstanding political leader for the Republican party. He provided tireless leadership to our party and our state and, as a result, trained his successors — the next generation of New Jersey’s and America’s public servants. He saw that as part of his duty as a leader and it was truly one of the joys of his life."

Franks' two stints as Republican state committee chairman were successful for his party. In his second one, he capitalized on voter anger over Gov. Jim Florio's tax increases and the GOP grabbed veto-proof majorities in both houses of the Legislature after the 1991 elections.

The victory was the most dramatic shift in Trenton since Watergate had swept Democrats into office two decades earlier, and the veto-proof power allowed Republicans to reduce the 7 percent sales tax to 6 percent over the Democratic governor's objections.

He served in the Assembly from 1991 to 1993, when he left Trenton to begin an eight year stint as a U.S Representative.

Franks won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2000. Vastly outspent against Corzine, who plowed a record $63 million into his effort, Franks ran a smart campaign and kept the race surprisingly close. He lost by only three percentage points, impressing Republicans who regularly lost New Jersey Senate races by wider margins.

In 2000, The Star-Ledger editorial board endorsed Corzine in his race against Franks. But the newspaper lauded Franks' and his track record, saying Franks was "a man of integrity who has fought a clean campaign."

Political insiders believe that Franks would have beaten Corzine in 2000 if the race had lasted just a little longer. Franks orchestrated a strategy of using Corzine's own money and self-financing against him.