by Al Terego

In 1996, when John Kerry was running for re-election to his third term as junior Senator from Massachusetts, he faced a precarious situation as the polling date neared.

He was virtually out of campaign funds in an extremely tight race with popular former Governor William Weld.

Fortuitously, Kerry had been given half ownership in this Beacon Hill home in Boston by his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Even more fortuitously, though the house is appraised at $6.9 million for tax purposes, Kerry was able to borrow nearly that much on his half interest, and loan it to his campaign. His victory that November was exceedingly narrow, despite Massachusetts’ well-deserved reputation as a virtual one-party state.

Without the timely injection of advertising funds, the incumbent would almost certainly have lost.

Next Month: We’ll travel to Italy for a view of the Italian estate which John Kerry sold to actor George Clooney on the eve of his announcement that he would run for President in 2004.

–From the June 2004 Austin Review