Republican Response

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Once again, New Jersey’s volatile independents will decide who wins the race for Governor. About one-quarter of Jon Corzine’s support among independents has moved to the undecided column. The big question is: will these voters keep moving to Forrester or can Corzine draw them back?

This emerging trend this late in the race is bad news for Jon Corzine. As the institutional incumbent, most voters should already have formed an opinion of him. Conventional wisdom dictates that late-deciders break heavily for the challenger or, in this case, the perceived challenger Doug Forrester. New JerseyÂ’s independent voters, however, make you work for their votes and Forrester still has some convincing to do. In the closing week of this campaign both candidates must give voters reasons to vote for them; it is not enough to say why the other guy is bad.

Comment by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind Academic Associate Michael P. Torpey (J.D., Seton Hall University School of Law). Michael is a former Chief of Staff to Governor Christine Todd Whitman and served as New Jersey Director of Campaign Operations for Bush-Cheney '04. Michael Torpey, Esq., can be reached at 609-394-0888.