Where I don't see Zimmer succeeding where McCain will is in Gloucester, Burlington, and the outer parts of Camden County. These are largely white, blue collar, Dem areas that have supported the Louse in the last few election cycles. Zimmer should also get creamed in the blue collar precincts in Middlesex County (Woodbridge, South River, South Amboy, etc.), while McCain may actually draw some votes there.
True, Zimmer won’t do as well as McCain/Palin in blue-collar areas, but he’ll do better than McCain among socially liberal and/or affluent RINOs. The top of the ticket gets him the conservative turnout that he could never get for himself, and he gets votes from RINOs that will vote for Obama because McCain is pro-life-—it might just be enough to get him over the finish line. This would be similar to how, over in PA, Arlen Specter benefited from President Bush turning out conservative voters in 2004 and how Bob Casey, Jr. benefited from Ed Rendell turning out liberal voters in 2006 (not that either race ended up being very close).
Haytaian wasn’t a RINO was he? I assume he was a least to right of Whitman.