"2005 New Jersey Governor Race
New Jersey Republicans who wonder why they have not won a statewide election since 1997, and why they have not won a landslide since 1985 should read and reflect on this article.
Do you seriously think that Jon Corzine is going to play by the rules?
Have Democrats in New Jersey ever factored decency into their campaigns?
Do you want to win in November, or do you want to be a permanent minority?
You know, I applaud Forrester for his aggressive campaign. I like a Republican is who willing to fight.
-- Alexander K. McClure"
polipundit.com
Forrester's new tough act isn't playing well to GOP stalwarts
Friday, May 27, 2005
BY DEBORAH HOWLETT AND JEFF WHELAN
Star-Ledger Staff
Doug Forrester has taken a much more "assertive" approach in the last few weeks of the Republican campaign for governor, even at the risk of alienating key partisans whose support could be crucial in the general election.
The Mercer County businessmanhas sunk $1 million into an 11th-hour media blitz, including some of the most negative advertising of the race. He has gone on the attack in debates, aiming squarely at his main rival, former Jersey City mayor Bret Schundler. And he went to court to undo the Republican county convention endorsements and improve his ballot position in the most populous counties.
Forrester has even approached two other candidates -- Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano of Nutley and Morris County Freeholder John Murphy -- to find out if they would be willing to join him rather than keep trying to beat him.
"In the past couple of weeks we have become more assertive," Forrester said.
The shift in tactics was not the approach he wanted to take, he said, but what the situation demanded: "That has to do with Bret beating me up in the mailers and on the campaign trail," he said. "Everybody said, 'Doug, you have got to push back.'"
More than simply confronting Schundler, Forrester is trying to gain every possible advantage in the neck-and-neck race for the nomination and a chance to square off with Sen. Jon Corzine, the likely Democratic nominee, in the November general election.
About 10 days before the first sanctioned debate May 14, Forrester phoned DiGaetano and asked him to drop out of the race, according to two sources closely involved in the campaign.
DiGaetano confirmed that Forrester called to ask for his support but declined to provide details.
Murphy said he has had several dinners with Forrester but that Forrester has never asked him to quit the race. Murphy said there has been "chatter between the campaigns" from time to time, but he told his staff regarding calls from other candidates: "If it's about me dropping out of the race, tell them not to waste the dime."
Forrester acknowledged that he approached both Murphy and DiGaetano, but not to ask them to abandon their campaigns.
"We were getting rumors of candidates considering dropping out," Forrester said. "These things go on all the time in campaigns, sometimes without credibility. It's a prudent thing for a candidate to have a conversation and say, 'Look, I heard these things and I'd appreciate your support.' ... You don't want to be in a situation where they throw their support to someone else because you didn't ask."
But the two sources -- an ally of DiGaetano and a Republican strategist, both of whom asked that their names not be used -- portrayed the conversation with the assemblyman as less cordial, and not so subtle.
Forrester's pitch to DiGaetano was: If you don't help me, Bret is going to win, the DiGaetano ally said.
"To say the least, that was a non-starter argument with Paul," he said. "Paul expressed to Forrester disappointment in the way Forrester's campaign had conducted itself to date. Paul's sense is that their operation has been less than honorable."
The Republican official said: "Paul was offended and insulted. He said, 'Take a hike.'"
The overtures to Murphy and DiGaetano were among several recent moves that the Forrester camp consider calculated risks.
While some of the actions will clearly anger key local party leaders as well as other candidates, Forrester is betting that once he has the nomination, his ability to self-finance his campaign will quickly help to heal any wounds.
Forrester has already raised $6.5 million, just slightly less than the $7 million raised by the other candidates combined. The money allowed him to make a media buy last week that will keep him on network affiliates in the New York and Philadelphia markets right up to election day on June 7.
The centerpiece of the media blitz is a "100 percent negative" spot, Schundler communications director Bill Pascoe complained. "I'm sure that with the amount of money they're spending to smear Bret, it won't be long before we see the Goodyear Blimp overhead with another Forrester-sponsored lie."
Forrester's hard-ball campaigning also has generated animosity among some of the local Republican committee chairmen, who were stunned when he went to court in Bergen County to improve his ballot position.
Forrester lost his bid in March for the Bergen County endorsement -- and with it the most prominent place on the county's ballot -- to DiGaetano.
His successful court challenge of the Bergen ballot was applied statewide by an appellate court, eliminating preferential ballot position for party-backed candidates in all 21 counties. That wiped out one of the few powers vested in the local party chairmen.
Forrester's camp estimates that the lawsuit improved his position relative to Schundler on ballots that 20 percent of voters will use.
Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole, the Essex County chairman and a Forrester backer, isn't sure the court decision was beneficial to the party. O'Toole has introduced legislation in the Statehouse to write into law the authority of county party leaders to bestow preferential placement on the ballot.
By most accounts, Forrester's legal move angered several other chairmen, most notably George Gilmore, a lawyer and the leader in Ocean County, which endorsed businessman Robert Schroeder.
Gilmore said he was "annoyed" (but not "jihad angry," as he was described in some news reports) and predicted that Forrester's efforts will backfire because he put himself ahead of the party.
"I would be upset at any gubernatorial candidate who challenged the county organization's right to have a line," Gilmore said. "To me this demonstrates that in the end some candidates are going to do what they think is best for their own gubernatorial ambitions."
Deborah Howlett and Jeff Whelan cover politics. Howlett may be reached at dhowlett@starledger.com or (609) 989-0273. Whelan may be reached at jwhelan@starledger.com or (609) 989-0379.
nj.com |
