Spitzer To Endorse Candidate Close to Clarence Norman

The state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, will take the rare step of weighing into a Democratic primary today by endorsing a Brooklyn congressional candidate considered a close confidant of the former county Democratic leader who was convicted of felony corruption charges last year.

Mr. Spitzer's endorsement of Carl Andrews, a state senator, is expected today on the steps of City Hall about 11 a.m. Mr. Spitzer generally avoids endorsing fellow Democrats who have challengers from within the party. However, Mr. Spitzer not only held a fund-raiser for Mr. Andrews earlier this year, but his top campaign aides have donated to Mr. Andrews's campaign, according to campaign finance records.

Also in the race to replace Rep. Major Owens, who is retiring after 24 years, are City Council Member Yvette Clarke; Mr. Owens's son, Christopher, and Council Member David Yassky.

Mr. Andrews was the field director for Mr. Spitzer's 1998 campaign for attorney general and worked as his director for intergovernmental affairs between 1999 and 2002. In February 2002, Mr. Andrews won a special election to the state Senate, where, after this morning's endorsement, he will deliver his farewell speech.

Senator Clinton, who employed Mr. Andrews as deputy campaign manger in 2000, has not announced whether she will make an endorsement in the four-way Democratic primary. Mrs. Clinton rarely endorses candidates in primaries but made an exception in 2001 when she backed Elana Posner for City Council in Lower Manhattan.

Before working with Mr. Spitzer and Mrs. Clinton's campaign, Mr. Andrews made his way through Brooklyn's political scene. He was a political consultant who worked closely with a King County Democratic leader, Clarence Norman, an Assemblyman who was convicted of directing campaign contributions to his personal bank account.

Even before Mr. Spitzer's rare primary endorsement, the race garnered plenty of attention. Earlier this month, The New York Sun reported on an e-mail message from Council Member Albert Vann that sought to unite black leaders in opposition to "the well-financed candidacy of Council Member David Yassky, a white individual."