Corzine Should Not Count His Chickens…
With approval ratings hovering in the 30’s, Jon Corzine is preparing to seek a second term as Governor of New Jersey. The lopsided defeat of Rob Andrews might give the Chief of State supreme confidence that a primary challenge will not materialize or will fail miserably. Should a challenge not materialize, Mr. Corzine may feel secure knowing that New Jersey is a blue state that is getting more blue by the day. However, he might possibly be misreading the tea leaves.
Governor Corzine should take little solace from Tuesday’s Primary results. Congressman Andrews ran a 10-week campaign against a long-time and popular incumbent. Should a Democrat decide to run against Corzine, it will be a significantly longer campaign against a one-term Governor with high unfavorables and many new found political enemies. In addition, as long as a Congressman does not run against Corzine, the Congressional delegation will not feel that their political aspirations are being usurped, resulting in a less unified block in favor of the Governor than the tight coalition of Congressmen that backed Senator Lautenberg. The Governor of New Jersey is one of the most powerful chief executives in the country. Most politicians in this State with higher ambitions would like to call Drumthwacket their home. There are plenty of pols itching for a run should the right conditions present themselves.
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Michael M. Shapiro, founder of ShapTalk.com, is an attorney who resides in New Providence,