NJ special election; Corzine v. Doug Forrester

[qwerty]

If McGreevey were to resign before the deadline for a special election...

[Southern Yankee]

My first post!

I voted for Forrester but I'd prefer Schundler as the candidate. Simply put, he's more charasmatic. Whoever the nominee is however, they should stick to taxes and security issues and not get drawn into "wedge" issue debates like abortion. The Gov has no impact on abortion anyway.

I also think that the nominee should immediatly call for McGreevey and/or the Democrats to repay the state treasury the entire sum of money that the Gov's lover recieved from the public when he was appointed to positions that he was unqualified for.

Of course this assumes that there will be a special election which is uncertain at best. The NJ GOP can never be accused of seizing the moment.

I just love this forum. A place where intellectual debate between partisians exists with humor and civility. Glad I found you.

[Southern Yankee]

Thanks for the welcome!

I don't know anything about DiFrancesco's leadership after 9/11 but from afar he seems like a poor choice. I'd much prefer to have someone scandal free. I also have a huge amount of distrust for the so-called party bosses in NJ. They have demonstrated time and time again that they know how to lose. A complete bunch of spineless wimps. If they want DiFrancesco you can bet he is a sure loser.

Schundler did lose by a lot but I believe that was because he alowed himself to be pulled into the social issues debate. If he sticks to taxes and security he can win. He should make it clear to voters that the Gov does not have a say in whether abortion is legal no matter what his personal views are. Stay focused and frame the debate  Do not under estimate the power of name recognition. There is also the factor of McGreevey voter remourse that can benefit Schundler. The honest guy lost last time. This time many swing voters will reward the man who should have won last time.

However, if Corzine runs I hate to say this but he would most likely win. Unlike his last close election he would now be the defacto "incumbent". I don't know for sure but I can bet that his favorabiltiy numbers are above 50%. He is no longer a millionaire businessman buying a senate seate. He is a sitting Senator. You can bet that the comatose NJ voters have no clue how extreme his liberal voting record is. It is a given that the leftist media there won't point it out since they are all in agreement.

Tom Kean (not Jr.) would be the only one who has a real chance of beating Corzine. His 9/11 committee chairmanship has lifted his profile in a huge positive way. I just doubt that he would run after turning down a run for the Senate. Where did you hear he expressed interest? Maybe his recent time in the spotlight has given him the political itch again. I hope so since he's our closest thing to a sure bet. Forget his son though. Didn't he lose a congressional race?

[Keystone Phil]

I think Forrester would be the best candidate and I hope he runs but Corzine would win in this case.

[Q]

Why would Corzine want this?  Wouldn't a pretty safe U.S. Senate seat be preferable to a run for Governor?

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

I think Corzine would win if he ran, but I can't imagine he would do it this year, since he is DSCC chairman.

[© tweed]

Menendez should run

[Q]

Just as I suspected; Corzine won't run:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/18/newjersey.governor/index.html

[© tweed]

Robert Menendez

[Hitchabrut]

Forrester is a great candidate who would be in the U.S. Senate if the DemocRATs hadn't cheated with the Lautenberg-Toricelli Deal, but that's Democrats for you.