DICK ZIMMER

The amount of vitriol in the 1996 U.S. senate race between Democrat Robert Torricelli and Republican Dick Zimmer became the stuff of legend, even by Garden State standards.

Tonight, Zimmer showed up to Chris Christie’s party marking the conclusion to another particularly nasty race.  But how did it stack up to his own?

“I am resigned to the 1996 race being the permanent gold standard,” said Zimmer, who ran a much lower profile U.S. Senate race against incumbent Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) last year.  

Zimmer did see some parallels between the Torricelli race and Christie’s battle with Gov. Corzine.

“Robert Torricelli even said that I was opposed to mammography,” he said, noting that Corzine top campaign advisor Jamie Fox was also Torricelli’s chief of staff at the time.    “It worked.”

As the campaign for governor intensifies, both Governor Corzine and Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie have begun throwing some not-so-subtle personal jabs.

The latest example is a television ad Governor Corzine released yesterday.  More than a few observers and bloggers noticed the double entendre – whether intentional or not --when the voiceover says that Christie “threw his weight around” as U.S. Attorney to avoid traffic tickets and points on his license.  

Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy indicated today that the campaign did not intend for the comment to be taken literally.   But state Sen. Bill Baroni, who grew up overweight and lost 130 pounds 15 years ago, said that he “immediately” recognized a reference to Christie’s girth in the Corzine ad.

“Tens of thousands of New Jerseyans like me battle weight,” he said.   “To make reference to that in such a blatant way to distract from a discussion about the issues? We’re better than that.”

Corzine also got personal by launching a web ad accusing Christie of doing a favor for a fellow former U.S. Attorney who declined to prosecute his brother.  

But it has cut both ways.  Throughout the campaign, Christie has focused on portraying Corzine – who grew up in rural Illinois and moved to New Jersey in 1975 -- as not just out-of-touch, but out-of-town.  His campaign released a Web ad replaying a Corzine statement about the “Garden State Expressway”, which does not exist. 

The debate over debates is great political theater, even to political insiders, even though real voters are hardly ever influenced by these kinds of process stories.  Rob Andrews and Dick Zimmer, in the Democratic primary and general election, respectively, tried to make a huge deal about the reluctance of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg to debate in 2008.  Lautenberg eventually debated, both times during the final week of the campaign, and his voters didn't hold his initial hesitation against him.

The move by New Jersey Network to move the gubernatorial debate from October 1 to October 22 was seen an beneficial to Gov. Jon Corzine, who is not required to participate in the two official debates sanctioned by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission because he is not accepting public financing.  Corzine preferred late debates, but now says he'll be part of the debate whenever it is held.  Republican Christopher Christie and independent Christopher Daggett, both the recipients of matching funds, strongly opposed NJN's petition to change the date of the debate as a carrot toward Corzine's participation. 

Representing NJN, anchorman Jim Hooker confirmed that the request to move the debates was done without consulting the other two sponsors, Gannett New Jersey and the Philadelphia Inquirer.  At some point, expect ELEC to change their sponsorship application process to ensure that all sponsors are on the same page. 

The four ELEC commissioners rarely vote along party lines, but they did that on Monday in a 2-2 vote on a motion to change the debate schedule.  Democrats Jerry Fitzgerald English and Albert Burstein, both former legislators, voted to move the debate to October 22, while the normally less partisan Republicans, Peter Tober and Amos Saunders, voted against any changes.  Saunders, a retired Superior Court Judge who hasn't been involved in partisan politics for decades, was especially strong in his opposition to any adjustments to the calendar. 

WASHINGTON -- Former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer wouldn’t have missed today’s hearing for the world.

“It’s the best show in town. I would have paid money to see it,” said Zimmer, who served three terms in the House in the 1990s and was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 1996 and 2008.  After losing to incumbent Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) in November, he returned to his work as a lobbyist at a Washington, DC firm. 

New Jersey Republicans are likely to nominate a pro-life candidate for Governor today - only the sixth abortion opponent to win a statewide GOP primary since the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.  Pro-Choice Republicans have won fourteen statewide Republican primaries.

Gov. Jon Corzine's consideration of a Republican running mate, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Joan Verplanck, is an idea that has worked for two other Democratic Governors in recent years.  In Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius picked Republicans to run with her in 2002 (John Moore, a former Kansas Chamber of Commerce Chairman and Cessna executive) and 2006 (Mark Parkinson, a former legislator and GOP State Chairman who became Governor when Sebelius resigned in April.)  Brian Schweitzer, the Democratic Governor of Montana, picked Republican State Sen. John Bohlinger as his running mate in 2004; they were re-elected last year. 

The death of Jack Kemp leaves six living former unsuccessful major party nominees for Vice President: Sargent Shriver (1972), Bob Dole (1976), Geraldine Ferraro (1984), Joe Lieberman (2000), John Edwards (2004) and Sarah Palin (2008).  There are also five living former Vice Presidents.  Of the six, three -- Dole, Lieberman and Edwards -- carried New Jersey.

In New Jersey, there are eleven living former unsuccessful major party candidates for United States Senator: Warren Wilentz (1966), David Norcross (1976), Jeff Bell (1978), Mary Mochary (1984), Peter Dawkins (1988), Christine Todd Whitman (1990), Chuck Haytaian (1994), Dick Zimmer (1996 and 2008), Bob Franks (2000), Douglas Forrester (2002) and Tom Kean, Jr. (2006).

New Jersey also has five living unsuccessful major party candidates for Governor: Raymond Bateman (1977), Peter Shapiro (1985), Jim Courter (1989), Bret Schundler (2001), and Douglas Forrester (2005).  Two other losing gubernatorial candidates, Jim Florio (1981 and 1993) and James E. McGreevey (1997) were subsequently elected Governor.

Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre has expressed some interest in running for Congress next year against Democrat Rush Holt.

Fair Haven Mayor Michael Halfacre is considering a bid for Congress against Democrat Rush Holt in 2010 and spent some time on last week's Chamber of Commerce trip to Washington making some early fundraising connections.  Holt is a heavy favorite to win a seventh term, but in a hypothetical situation where President Barack Obama's approval ratings during his midterm election were in decline, New Jersey 12 is the type of district that could be on the bubble of competitiveness.

Holt, 60, was elected to Congress in 1998 in a 51%-48% upset victory that took advantage of incumbent Michael Pappas' weaknesses.  He defied pundits two years later by holding the seat against former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, winning by just 651 votes.  Boosted by some adjustments to his district after the 2000 Census, Holt won 61% against former N.J. Secretary of State DeForest "Buster" Soaries in 2002, 59% against GOP activist Bill Spadea in 2004, 65% against former Helmetta Councilman Joseph Sinagra in 2006, and 62% against Holmdel Deputy Mayor Alan Bateman in 2008.

U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, who began his fifth term in the U.S. Senate in January 2008, has beaten fifteen Democrats, five Republicans and 20 Independents on his path to becoming the longest serving Senator in New Jersey history.

State Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May) is not on the ballot this year, giving Republicans hope that they can pickup two Assembly seats in the 1st district.

The best shot for the Republicans to pick up a State Assembly seat is in the first district, where incumbents Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam will need to defend their seats without the benefit of State Sen. Jeff Van Drew at the top of the ticket.  They won in 2007 as the popular Van Drew was ousting GOP incumbent Nicholas Asselta by twelve points.  Albano, swept into office as Van Drew's running mate in 2005, won comfortably; Milam beat Republican Michael Donohue by 2,020 votes.  This is the first time in history that Cape May County is represented by all Democratic legislators.

Milam won't be helped by his admission that he parked in a handicapped spot last October.  The freshman Assemblyman initially sought a trial, alleging that the spot was not clearly marked.  This is not the most egregious offense for a New Jersey legislator in recent years, but it could make a decent mailer and cable TV ad.  Donohue is reportedly interested in running again.

District 1 may be among the most politically competitive in the state, although it has clearly trended Democratic over the last three years.  George W. Bush carried the district over John Kerry by 4,792 votes, and Barack Obama beat John McCain by 5,095.  Jon Corzine beat Doug Forrester by 2,984 in the 2005 gubernatorial race, and Tom Kean, Jr. defeated Robert Menendez for U.S. Senate in 2006 by 3,439.  All three of those races were about 53%-47%.