Submitted by admin on Sun, 2006-11-19 08:00. ::
He earned a reputation for hard work and frugality, symbolized by his preference of sleeping in his office rather than rent a Washington apartment. And while national magazines labeled him a "windbag" or ranked him among the nation's "dimmest bulbs" in Congress, former advisers and colleagues describe Hayworth as among the brightest, most well-read and engaging public servants they have ever known.
But after a stunning upset at the hands of Democratic challenger Harry Mitchell, J.D. Hayworth is gone. At least from the political scene. At least for now.
Those who know him well predict a certain comeback, as a television talking head, as a national spokesman for a think tank or political action group or as a lobbyist. Most also predict another run for office, either to reclaim his old seat or perhaps as part of the stampede to replace term-limited Gov. Janet Napolitano in 2011.
"I'd like for him to consider challenging Mitchell again, but that's up to him and his family," said longtime supporter Tom Liddy, who lives in Hayworth's district and has had him as a guest on his local radio talk show many times.
"But if he chooses not to do that, I've seen him behind a microphone, and microphones don't scare him. Whether it's in business or broadcasting or future public service, the future looks very bright for J.D. Hayworth."
Hayworth has said little publicly since releasing a concession statement Tuesday. He declined Arizona Republic requests for an interview but spoke briefly with 12 News reporter Nick Calderone last week.
"You never say never," Hayworth said of a political comeback. "But as wonderful and great an honor as serving in the House is, I think those of us who are honored with that service have to come to the realization that the House is not our home."
One of Hayworth's most prominent boasts before his first run for Congress in 1994 was that he had never been fired, an amazing feat in the fickle world of broadcast news.
"Knowing J.D. as well as I do, this has to be a blow," said Bruce Merrill, a political scientist and pollster at Arizona State University. "He's very self-assured, and I suspect that even with all the winds of change in Washington that he somehow felt he would win."
Merrill said he believes Hayworth will land a job as a host or commentator on a cable network like Fox News or MSNBC or will follow the steps of other former congressmen and take a high-paying lobbying job.
A fan of Hayworth's broadcast talent, if not his politics, is Alan Colmes, co-host of Fox's Hannity & Colmes, on which Hayworth was a frequent guest.
"He's certainly good on TV and radio, and I've had him on both," Colmes said. "I don't agree with him, but I love having him as a guest. He's a very likable guy, and likability is a big key."
Hayworth's most recent financial statement filed with the clerk of the House showed no significant assets, investments, savings or income beyond his congressional salary of $165,200 per year, unspecified book royalties and a small salary paid to his wife to manage donations to his political action committee.
Three former staff members, who spoke on the condition that their names not be used, were puzzled that Hayworth ran such a negative campaign against Mitchell.
They said it has always been Hayworth's nature to be aggressive toward opponents, but they didn't understand why he did not balance the attacks with ads that talked more, or at all, about his accomplishments. That was a tactic that greatly helped Sen. Jon Kyl fend off a well-funded challenge from Democrat Jim Pederson.
Hayworth always has been a champion for Native American tribes, a relationship that began when 20 percent of his congressional district was Indian country. (Redistricting left his district concentrated in the urban East Valley.) Hayworth took flak because many of his tribal donors were affiliated with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but he is still well regarded among Indian nations.
He wrote a book on border security, Whatever It Takes, with his chief of staff, Joe Eule. And he was prominently featured in the anti-illegal-immigration documentary Border War. Hayworth promoted a zero-tolerance stance on illegal immigration and loudly distanced himself from President Bush and Sen. John McCain, who support less extreme measures like a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship.
His former staff members said they did not think Hayworth so overplayed the immigration issue that it cost him the race, not with national sentiment against the Iraq war also rising. But they said the anger Hayworth displayed on the campaign trail was likely a strong turnoff to voters.
"After his close call (against Democrat Steve Owens) in 1998, J.D. was all about listening to his district," one former adviser said. "He was the big, boisterous guy who listens. He completely threw that out this cycle and was just angry, angry, angry."
"J.D. thought he was on Fox News, and it was a debate," he said. "Harry Mitchell is like this grandfather who was willing to stand up to J.D., but he's not being angry in the way that J.D. was being angry to him."
The advisers said the side of Hayworth that did not come out was knowledge of American history, his ability to wow crowds on the stump and his talent for remembering the names of practically everybody he has ever met.
They also said it would be unfair to speculate on whether Hayworth's appearance - he underwent a dramatic weight loss after undergoing gastric-bypass surgery - played any role in his defeat.
The 2003 surgery was for health reasons, but some note that some of the light-hearted, happy-go-lucky aspects of Hayworth's personality seemed to disappear with the pounds.
Despite his often-jovial demeanor, Hayworth has displayed a pugnacious streak for as long as he has been in Arizona's public eye. He was once suspended without pay from his sports-anchor job at Channel 10 after cursing at then-KTAR radio producer Todd Walsh during an Arizona Cardinals football game.
In 1995, Hayworth almost came to blows with Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., after a disagreement over an amendment. Hoyer, who reportedly patched things up with Hayworth, is nevertheless enjoying a last laugh: Mitchell's vote on Thursday helped Hoyer secure the position of House majority leader.
Now, Hayworth appears to have turned his anger toward a pair of Arizona GOP seatmates, Reps. John Shadegg and Jeff Flake. In angry comments to fellow House Republicans last week, Hayworth blamed Flake and Shadegg for painting a negative picture of him in a pre-election article in the Wall Street Journal. One prominent politico basking in the schadenfreude of Hayworth's defeat is former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods. Woods, a Republican, found Hayworth to be "blustery and absurd" when he first jumped from TV to the House in 1995. And Woods said he doesn't believe Hayworth has offered "anything constructive" on any issue of importance since.
"I'm sure we have not seen the last of him," Woods said. "Because with a lot of politicians, you really have to drive a wooden stake through their heart. I think his persona was wrapped up in being an officeholder, so you'll have to beat him two or three times to get him to go away."
Calls on President Clinton to demand the resignation of his press secretary for comments Hayworth terms "blatant bigotry" against Southern Baptists.
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