Posted on 04/22/2002 11:58:13 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:40:10 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) --
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
No. Christopher Smith is FROM Jersey, but he is IN Washington.
Indeed!
how can you tell if a politician is lying?
his/her lips are movings
Which is why there is (usually) no such thing as a Republican Primary in New York.
There was a buzz several months ago about him entering the race, but he's not interested.
The 3 candidates are now: Forrester, Matheussen and Allen.
United Gunite, if I remember correctly, was just in the news for bribing the mayor of Paterson.
Now, the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator is anybody’s ball game. There are three candidates left, down by 50% from the field that began the morning of April 8th. Each of the three can make plausible arguments on how they can win, and each of the three can win. Conversely, each of the three can finish third. This race is now about message, money, personality, organization, ideology and momentum. This could be one of those rare primaries where the vote totals of #1 and #3 are fairly close.
State Senator JOHN MATHEUSSEN began the week by announcing that he had raised a truly pathetic $62,000, with only $30,000 cash on hand. His campaign looked dead in the water: he had only a few organization lines, all in South Jersey; just a handful of endorsements, mostly from South Jersey; and the main asset of his candidacy was the support of New Jersey Right to Life and a top-notch campaign manager, SEAN KENNEDY.
Insiders say that Matheussen’s chances are dependent upon his ability to cast himself as the most conservative candidate in a field of two moderates. Indeed, his record on Abortion and Gun Control will appeal to conservatives who dominate Republican primaries. And Matheussen has the ability to win conservative votes without disqualifying his chances to win swing independent voters in the general election. There’s a certain similarity between Matheussen and Congressman CHRISTOPHER SMITH, who is strongly pro-life but has convinced many voters who disagree with him on that issue to still vote for him. Like Smith, Matheussen has been able to win tough elections in districts that should vote for the other party, and has put together coalitions that include organized labor and other traditional Democratic constituencies. Matheussen is no extremist.
It’s a very real possibility that millionaire businessman DOUGLAS FORRESTER, who virtually unknown within the political community just five months ago, will be the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator. He has raised over $3 million in his mostly self-funded campaign, has over $2 million cash on hand, and says he’ll make more money available if necessary. In the net worth area, Forrester is no JON CORZINE, but it’s not likely that his two remaining opponents will come even close to spending what he will.
In the wake of the Treffinger scandal, Forrester is well positioned to run as a political outsider in an environment where the outsider message may have a sudden appeal to Republicans who want to oust the incumbent.
Forrester’s campaign is being run by BILL PASCOE, a political veteran who ran BRET SCHUNDLER’s successful gubernatorial primary. The KYW-TV3 poll showed Forrester in second place, even before Treffinger tanked. It seems that Forrester’s early investment in direct mail and radio may already be working.
Sources say that some Forrester supporters suggested to national party leaders that they clear the field and allow Forrester to be the nominee, enabling him to hold his personal financial resources until the general election for use against Torricelli. But Forrester has not run for office since 1979, when he won a seat of the West Windsor Township Committee, and probably needs the warm up. In 2000, when Corzine ran for the U.S. Senate, his primary campaign against former Governor JIM FLORIO allowed the first-time candidate to learn the ropes of a statewide campaign before he began a competitive general election. Forrester, if becomes the nominee, can use this intramural contest to figure out just how the system works.
State Senator DIANE ALLEN, who led the pack in the KYW-TV3 primary poll and ran the best of the GOP field against Bob Torricelli in a general election matchup, and has raised $306,000, is well-known in South Jersey from her years as a television news anchorwoman for a network affiliate in Philadelphia. She was won three elections in the Democrat-leaning 7th legislative districts. Pundits say that Allen would be a tough general election opponent for Torricelli; in her legislative races, she showed tremendous vote-getting abilities among women and independent voters.
But Allen seems to have emerged as a clear target for the New Jersey GOP's conservative wing, who disagree with her on core issues like abortion, guns, same sex marriages and the death penalty. Conservatives seem to have adopted a "stop-Allen" mentality as Matheussen and Forrester court voters that had been committed to Treffinger, Assemblyman GUY GREGG and former Independent Counsel ROBERT RAY. Allen's campaign manager is BRIAN DONAHUE, a talented young operative who made his name on the highly competitive campaign of Congressman MICHAEL FERGUSON two years ago. Republican County Chairman are busily sorting through the events of last week, with those counties where Treffinger has the line trying to determine what their options are. Matheussen has organization lines in Camden, Cumberland and Gloucester counties, Allen has the line in Burlington and Cape May counties, and Forrester has the line in Middlesex County.
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