Kathleen Donovan

Don’t expect Governor Jon Corzine to make a lieutenant governor pick this week.  

“We don't expect an announcement this week,” said Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy.

Until last week, the widely held perception was that candidates had to pick a running mate within 30 days of the June 2 primary, which is Thursday.  The campaigns of both Corzine and Republican challenger Chris Christie were apparently under that impression as well.  

But gubernatorial candidates actually have until 30 days of the certification of the primary results, which happened only Friday.  Last week, a source involved in the Corzine campaign said that they were relieved to be able to push the selection past Independence Day weekend. 

New Jersey Right to Life Executive Director Marie Tasy is taking a wait and see approach on Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie’s running mate.

Although Christie has said that he converted to a pro-life viewpoint in the 1990s, both the women most talked about as his candidate for lieutenant governor – Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan and state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) – are pro-choice.  

Tasy, however, said that she will withhold judgment until a pick is made, and would not say whether her group would withhold an endorsement from Christie if he picked a pro-choicer. 

Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie has publicly sworn off political considerations in making his eventual Lieutenant Governor pick, arguing that the public will vote largely based on who occupies the top of the ticket.

But the two women said to be at the top of Christie’s shortlist – state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) and Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan -- each has a history of running strong in regions that are crucial to Christie’s electoral prospects, and both could help Republicans down-ballot in their respective counties.  

Christie alone will have the say on his choice for the number two spot, so he could surprise observers with his pick.  But media speculation about who he will choose has come down to Allen, who repeatedly wins reelection in a South Jersey legislative district that has a two-to-one Democrat registration advantage, and Donovan, who over the last decade has been the one Republican bulwark against the Bergen County Democratic Organization’s complete dominance and last year won reelection the most votes of any county-wide candidate, Democrat or Republican.  

“These are counties that have gone Democratic in many cases over the last few years in statewide races after having been solidly Republican for a while,” said Monmouth University pollster and political science professor Patrick Murray.  “These are counties that Christie must win.”

PolitickerNJ.com

Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie and Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan in Rutherford this morning. Donovan is reportedly high on Christie's short list of Lt. Governor candidates

RUTHERFORD - In what looked like an audition for Lieutenant Governor, Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan hosted Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Chrsitie in her hometown today. 

Donovan, a five-term County Clerk, is said to be near the top of Christie's shortlist for the state's number two spot.  And while standing in front of a group of elderly voters at a senior center, Christie dropped what initially sounded like a hint about a Christie/Donovan ticket.

"She has been with me every step of the way, and I hope that we will be together every step of the way, and I trust we will be into the November election," he said.

But when asked to elaborate on the comment by a reporter, Christie walked it back, repeating previous statements that Donovan, along with several other potential running mates, would make a good choice, and that he would take his time making the decision.

No Republican has ever won a statewide election without carrying Bergen County, a point that helps Donovan, who was the top Republican vote getter when she ran for re-election in 2008.  A former Port Authority Commissioner and GOP State Chairman, she represented heavily blue collar and politically competitive South Bergen in the State Assembly after ousting incumbents in 1985.

Christie, however, downplayed that speculation, arguing that voters would choose based on who is at the top of the ticket.

"I don't think people go into the voting booth and say ‘I don't really like Chris, but I like Kathe, so I'll vote for him and maybe he'll die,'" he said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie, potentially auditioning running mates, will join Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan on a tour of downtown Rutherford on Thursday morning.  Donovan is widely considered to be one of the top candidates on Christie's short list for Lt. Governor.   Last week, Christie campaigned with another LG aspirant, State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park).  Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield), widely viewed as a top contender for the number two spot on the Republican ticket, said last Friday that he was not interested in running for Lt. Governor.

Steve Lonegan fired a clear and direct warning shot at Chris Christie today, suggesting that the endorsement he offered in his concession speech one week ago is based upon the continuation of his conservative agenda during his general election campaign against Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.  But if Christie seeks a move to the political center, as many GOP primary winners do in New Jersey, he could alienate Lonegan and his core political supporters.

One interpretation of Lonegan’s intentions: that Christie needs to proceed with caution as he considers pro-choice running mates.  State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) and Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan are reportedly the leading candidates for Lt. Governor on the GOP ticket.  Instead, some Lonegan backers are telling Christie to look at three other candidates: Assemblywoman Alison McHose (R-Franklin) and Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno.

Lonegan is taking some heat from supporters for his conciliatory primary night endorsement of Christie, according to sources close to the former Bogota Mayor.  Also taking some heat is New Jersey Right to Life (NJRTL) Legislative Affairs Director Marie Tasy, whom some Lonegan supporters insist backed Christie.  Sources say that Tasy stopped returning Lonegan’s telephone calls in January, and even prevented Lonegan volunteers from handing out literature at a NJRTL dinner.

The decision of Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) to remove his name from consideration for Lt. Governor removes one of the top names from Chris Christie's list, and makes State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) and Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan more serious contenders.  Kean was reportedly one of the leading contenders to become Christie's running mate.

Democratic sources say that Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) remains a strong candidate to run with Gov. Jon Corzine. Other names being mentioned by party leaders this week include two Republicans, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Joan Verplanck and Rev. DeForest "Buster" Soaries, a former N.J. Secretary of State.  It's hard to imagine Soaries is a real contender: he was an early supporter of George W. Bush for President in 2000, and national Republicans helped him in his congressional campaign against Democrat Rush Holt in 2002.  His presence on the ticket might make it more difficult for Democrats to tie Christie to Bush, as they did at Corzine's campaign kickoff on Tuesday.

If Christopher Christie becomes the Republican nominee for Governor, he'll have thirty days to decide on a running mate.  Republican leaders close to the former U.S. Attorney seem to think the race for Lt. Governor is down to two finalists: Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) and State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park), with Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan sitting third on the list.

Kean's fledgling candidacy is helped by his previous statewide experience and his knowledge of state issues.  He was the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in 2006, and while he sometimes struggled as a candidate - his avoidance of reporters in an Atlantic City elevator comes to find - his 44% in a bad Republican year had to be a growing experience.  And he's been vetted by the thorough opposition research of Bob Menendez, which means it is unlikely that anything in Kean's background would embarrass Christie.

He has won good reviews for his role as Senate Republican leader from colleagues who view him as more partisan and more aggressive than his predecessor, Leonard Lance.  He seems well-liked, and understands vast details of state government - a quality that might be a good balance for Christie, who has served as a Freeholder and as a federal prosecutor.

The 40-year-old Kean comes from a prominent political family: his father served two terms as Governor and later as Drew University President and as Chairman of the 9/11 Commission; his grandfather was a ten-term Congressman, and his great-grandfather served in the United States Senate.

But Kean's greatest weakness as a candidate for Lt. Governor is his natural hesitation to be an attack dog.  While he has become more combative since his 2006 defeat, he is not exactly the kind of guy who will criticize Democrats just for being Democrats.  He's often reluctant to get his hands dirty.  Kean may not attract voters that Christie won't get on his own, but he won't hurt Christie either.

Allen, 61, has a legitimate base in South Jersey, where she was well known as a television news anchorwoman for a Philadelphia network affiliate before launching a career in politics in 1995.  She has won five races in a district that has elected Democrats to the Assembly for the last twelve years, and got received seasoning as a candidate for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination in 2002.  She helps Christie in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties - places Republicans will need to better than they have in recent statewide elections if they want to beat Gov. Jon Corzine.  And Allen might be more willing than Kean to be act in a fiercely partisan manner.

Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan working in her office on Election Day.

HACKENSACK - Rumored to be a short-list candidate for lieutenant governor should establishment candidate Chris Christie win the GOP gubernatorial primary tonight, Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan told PolitickerNJ.com that she doesn't know what will happen on that front.

"No one's offered," she said. ""Yes, I would consider it, if asked. It sounds like a fabulous opportunity but I also just won re-election and am very happy serving as clerk."

Donovan has served in that capacity for 20 years, defending her territory even as the rise of the Joe Ferriero era in Democratic Party politics here toppled nearly everyone else around her in Republican ranks.

Donovan also served in the Assembly for one term prior to her job as clerk.

"I've been very fortunate to participate in public life and I've enjoyed every minute of it," she said. "Everyday on this job, we help someone."

Filing to run against Republican Assemblymen Brian Rumpf and Daniel Van Pelt in the strongly Republican, Ocean County-based ninth district, are Richard P. Visotcky and Robert Rue.  Visotcky, an attorney, is the son of Richard F. Visotcky, a Bergen County Democrat who served in the Assembly from 1974 to 1986.