McCain's New Jersey Democrats

WOODBRIDGE -- John McCain’s New Jersey campaign today rolled out three Garden State Democrats who are backing the Republican presidential candidate. It’s evidence, they say, that despite Barack Obama’s double-digit lead in the polls, “The Maverick” is making inroads with the state’s traditionally Democratic voters -- even if at least two of the Democrats they showed off today already voted Republican in the last presidential election.

At McCain’s regional headquarters in Woodbridge, former Real Estate Commission Executive Director Dawn Rafferty – a self-described life-long Democrat who served under Governors McGreevey and Codey -- said that she fears for her children’s future if Barack Obama is elected president. She was joined at the press conference by the voice of her mother, former Secretary of State Joan Haberly, who endorsed McCain via speakerphone while on a business trip in Las Vegas.

Not present was former Waterford Mayor George Fallon, a Democrat who State Director Rick Mroz said was backing McCain as well.

“They are an illustration of what we’ve been saying in this campaign all along from the start, from two years ago, when John McCain started his quest for the presidential election,” said Mroz. “That there are people in this state who are not just the rank-and-file Republicans, who are non-traditional Republicans, who are independents or Democrats who will ultimately come out and vote for John McCain… We think this is a very real dynamic, which, at the end of the day, is going to be the reason McCain and Palin are elected.”

But it won’t be the first time that Haberle and Rafferty will vote Republican on a federal level. Although Haberle was a delegate for Al Gore in 2000 and chaired the Hunterdon County Democrats in the late 1970s, she voted for George W. Bush in 2004. So did Rafferty.

“I don’t know, there was just something about (John Kerry) that I didn’t like. I didn’t like his wife either, but that’s beside the point, “ said Haberele. “I just didn’t feel secure with the guy much.”

In August, the McCain campaign touted the endorsement of Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka, a former Democrat who’s now an independent. But he also supported Bush – both in 2000 and 2004.

Still, both Haberle and Rafferty denied that they were Democrats in name only.

“I think I earned my spurs,” said Haberle, adding “If we’re going to get on a bus and go for a ride, I want someone with a driver’s license for a while, not someone with a learner’s permit.”

That same logic doesn’t apply to Sarah Palin, however, who both Haberle and Rafferty expressed admiration for.

“To reach the point of being the governor of a state is extremely important, and I don’t like the fact that she’s not being taken seriously,” said Rafferty.

And despite pouring doubt on Obama’s experience, Rafferty said that she knows Palin would be ready to serve as second in command.

“I see it in her eyes. The first time I saw her, when John McCain introduced her, I put a call to my mother and said she’s it. She’s absolutely it,” she said.

Democratic State Chairman Joe Cryan didn't exactly take the McCain Campaign's annoucement seriously, limiting his comments to one sentence.

"I wish them good luck," he said. 

UPDATE: Rafferty said that she misunderstood the question about who she voted for in 2004, and that she did, in fact, vote for Kerry.