Gov contenders in dead heat
By CHARLES WEBSTER
Trentonian
October 11, 2005
TRENTON - Voter support for Jon Corzine evaporated over the summer, with a WNBC/Marist poll released yesterday showing he and Republican Doug Forrester locked in dead heat.
The WNBC/Marist poll showed Forrester with 43 percent support from likely voters to his Democrat opponent’s 44 percent showing.
"It’s a toss up," declared political scientist David Rebovich, director of the Rider University Institute for New Jersey Politics.
Support for Corzine has been steadily diminishing since the first debate held between the two candidates last month.
Forrester has garnered continued support despite being outspent by the Corzine campaign nearly 2-to-1 on television and radio ads. But observers say Forrester has done a better job with getting out his message.
"There have been some very good ads by Forrester - with his wife and the one with Tom Kean that reminded people that he’s a moderate Republican and he can’t be tainted by the Right," Rebovich said.
Corzine has been forced to weather a barrage of scandals in recent months and questions about his private financial dealings, including: forgiving a nearly $500,000 loan to his former galpal, state workers’ union boss Carla Katz; questionable loans totaling over $5.1 million to members of the Black Ministers’ Council; a $15,000 loan to the Education Law Center that has sued the state to fund Abbott School districts, and a pair of Senate ethics complaints.
People are starting to wonder out loud if Corzine is the right guy for the job, Rebovich said.
"There are some people out there still wondering why he’s running for governor," Rebovich said last night in a telephone interview. "As people are hearing more about Jon Corzine there is a certain amount of skepticism - and that shows [in the polls.]"
Corzine has steadily been losing ground since last month when a flurry of polls showed the Democrat slipping.
In a poll released by Quinnipiac University late last month, Forrester trailed Corzine by four points - a four point gain for Forrester over a poll conducted by the Connecticut-based poll the month before. In the Quinnipiac poll voters named taxes and government corruption as the most important issue facing New Jersey.
The WNBC/Marist poll mirrored those findings and revealed that voters believe Forrester is the man to better tackle those problem issues. The poll found that 43 percent of voters identified Forrester as better equipped to reduce property taxes and 41 percent say the Republican is likely to do a better job cleaning up government corruption in the Garden State.
Last week, a Rasmussen Reports poll put the two candidates 7 points apart - a month before the two men were 9 points apart.
On Sunday, a Star Ledger/Eagleton poll showed the two men were 7 points apart - a month before the two were 18 points apart in the same poll.
