Mitt Romney's decision to pick a horse in the New Jersey Republican gubernatorial primary likely accomplishes two things: it boosts former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie's standing among conservatives, and it strengthens Romney's chances of picking up organizational and fundraising support in New Jersey if he seeks the 2012 GOP nomination for President.
Christie leads former Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan, who has been the de facto leader of the conservative wing of the New Jersey GOP for the last six years, by 23 percentage points, according to a poll released last week by Quinnipiac University. Christie has appealed to conservative Republican primary voters through endorsements from other conservatives, including U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton), whose seal of approval among pro-life voters is important.
In 2008, John McCain carried New Jersey's winner-take-all primary, defeating Romney 55%-28%. Rudy Giuliani, a strong Christie supporter, had dominated the early New Jersey endorsement game; after his withdrawal, most of his support went to McCain.
Unless the Legislature changes the law, New Jersey is still looking at an early 2012 Republican presidential primary. And the state continues to provide a wealth of early campaign contributions in national elections.
Garden State Equality fires new broadside at Dems Smarting over the state Senate's refusal to pass marriage equality and disillusioned at the moment with the Democratic Party majority, Garden State Equality’s 85-member Board of Directors unanimously decided against giving financial contributions to political parties and their affiliated committees. ...
“We will work harder and smarter to protect consumers, to preserve civil rights, to effectively regulate the alcoholic beverage industry, to ensure that the integrity of New Jersey’s casino gaming industry continues, to keep drives, passengers and pedestrians safe on our streets, to assist victims of crimes, and to remember always the importance of juvenile justice on issues affecting the state." -- Attorney General-designate Paula Dow, at her Senate confirmation hearing.
- PolitickerNJ.com, 02/08/10Press releases are submitted by PolitickerNJ users, not by staff. They do not represent the viewpoint of PolitickerNJ.com.
Romney's been brainwashed.
It runs in the family.
!
Wait...are you implying politics was a factor in the endorsement?
God help the GOP if it is Romney in 2012
Romney will be a disaster. Take the record of what he did in office and align it with his rhetoric and you would have enough evidence to commit him to an institution for being a schizophrenic. He is just Arlen Specter with hair.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson
Interesting, Wally...
...because I had the exact opposite reaction. Romney's decision to supprt Christie may well hurt him among conservatives. Conservatives are mostly for Lonegan in the primary and many don't see Christie as a conservative.
Heck, Romney is still trying to sell himself as a conservative.
I voted for Romney in the primary last year beecause he was really the best of the lot. If he backs Christie I will not vote for him again. I'm sure I'm not the only Lonegan supporter who won't forget.
hannity
Hannity now Romney... do these idiots even look at what the hell is going on in NJ before they throw their weight behind someone who has based his campaign on vapid platitudes? don't they see that he's just another McCain?