[AuH2ORepublican]

"I don't think a conservative has won for governor or U.S. senator in NJ in well over a half century, right?"

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DJ would know for sure, but I believe you are correct. However, NJ voted overwhelmingly for President Reagan in 1980 and 1984 and for President George H.W. Bush in 1988, and Bush would have carried NJ in 1992 had it not been for Perot getting 15.61% in the state (as it is, Clinton beat Buhs by only 2.37%). NJ trended Democrat in the 1990s and gave George W. Bush only 40.29% in 2000, but President Bush got a pretty respectable 46.24% in 2004, soit is not out of the question for a conservative to win statewide in NJ, especially in a lower-turnout off-year election such as a gubernatorial race in 2005 or a Senate race in 2006.

[fieldmarshaldj]

At least no Conservative has won the Governorship since Democrat Charles Edison in 1940 and a Senate seat since 1952 with Republican H. Alexander Smith (not counting the brief tenure of Nicholas Brady in 1982, since he was appointed and only amassed a moderate record).