Governor's race headlines today's N.J. Primary
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
By: Phil Gregory
Voters in New Jersey will be casting Primary ballots for Governor. There are three Republicans competing in the primary, as well as three Democrats trying to unseat incumbent Governor Jon Corzine.
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Analysts expect Corzine to easily defeat his Democratic Primary rivals: Former Glen Ridge Mayor Carl Bergmanson, Phillipsburg mechanic Roger Bacon and Jeff Boss of Guttenberg.
The Republican candidates are former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and state Assemblyman Richard Merkt.
Montclair State Political Science Professor Brigid Harrison says the Republican Primary winner will have an uphill battle in November.
Harrison: Democrats out-register Republicans 3-to-2 but 50 percent of the electorate is Independent or unaffiliated voters and in order to get elected statewide you typically need to get about 300,000 of those voters who swing one way or another to win.
Harrison says the winning Republican may also have a tough time competing with Corzine's campaign spending.