By Jeff Barker
                          Sun Staff
                          Originally published November 7, 2002

                    BETHESDA - Rep. Constance A. Morella had managed to stay composed
                    in public, even as election results served notice that her eight-term
                    congressional career would soon come to an end.

                    The maverick Republican, 71, whose campaign signs in the suburban
                    Washington district read simply "Connie," had calmly stood up on election
                    night and expressed her gratitude to supporters by quoting from
                    Shakespeare: "For your great graces heaped upon me ... I can nothing
                    render but allegiant thanks."

                    Yesterday, reflecting on her career at her campaign headquarters here,
                    Morella said the quote may have been from the play All's Well That Ends Well.

                    But it actually comes from Henry VIII -  which is fitting because, as Morella
                    said, smiling through tears, "I guess it didn't all end well, did it?"

                    Morella was Maryland's only incumbent member of Congress who lost
                    Tuesday, ending a 16-year run marked by a fervent dedication to serving
                    constituents.

                    In her district, most of which is in Montgomery County, she may be known
                    less for her positions than for helping people sort out problems with
                    Medicare, with veterans' benefits, even with zoning. She says her office has
                    handled more than 47,000 constituent cases over the years.

                    House veterans don't often lose. Morella learned yesterday that, for all the
                    sting of an election defeat, there is one perk: You get to take a symbolic
                    bow before your admirers as you leave the stage.

                    So as she fought disappointment, tears and a cold, Morella took time to
                    receive thanks. In mid-afternoon, an aide plopped a manila envelope on a
                    table with scores of e-mails from well-wishers.

                    "I will never forget how you called me yourself when I had a serious
                    eviction problem," one e-mail said.

                    "I still remember going to the Rockville fireworks as a teen when you were
                    first campaigning," said another.

                    "You and I have known each other for a long time," said a third. "You have
                    helped my mother with several Medicare issues in the past three years and
                    I truly thank you for that."

                    Later, Morella received telephone calls of condolences from former
                    President Bush. His son, the current president, had called Tuesday night to
                    express regrets - an effort that impressed Morella because, as she said, "I
                    hardly vote with those guys [Republicans]."

                    At a news conference in Washington, National Republican Congressional
                    Committee Chairman Thomas M. Davis III of Virginia said, "Connie
                    Morella was beloved, whether you voted for her or not."

                    Morella, who said she won't run for the seat again, lost partly because state
                    Democrats redrew her district's boundary lines after the 2000 census to add
                    areas with concentrations of Democratic voters - particularly a portion of
                    Prince George's County.

                    "I think redistricting did it," Morella said yesterday. "The die was cast."

                    Until two years ago, an aura of invincibility surrounded her. "Is She
                    Unbeatable?" screamed the headline of a 1996 newspaper article
                    previewing a race, which is framed in her office.

                    But in 2000, with redistricting looming, Morella received a scare when she
                    only narrowly defeated Democrat Terry Lierman.

                    With a voting record more liberal than many Democrats, Morella had
                    always managed to attract large numbers of crossover votes. But Lierman
                    kept many Democrats on his side by emphasizing that control of the House
                    of Representatives could be at stake in the election.

                    Leadership of the House was also a potent campaign theme for this year's
                    victorious challenger, state Sen. Christopher Van Hollen Jr.

                    "I don't think the vote yesterday was about Connie Morella. It was about
                    change," Van Hollen said yesterday. "Voters were looking for someone
                    who was not going to quietly disagree with the Republican agenda, but fight
                    it."

                    Republicans retained their hold on the House, and Morella was left
                    frustrated that many in her district seemed to vote for a party instead of a
                    person.

                    "How can someone say, 'You've helped me with my child and my wife and
                    I like your issues, but I'm not going to vote for you?' There's some
                    schizophrenia there," she said. "It's kind of spooky."

                    Sun staff writer Julie Hirschfeld Davis contributed to this article.

                    Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun