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Monday, January 31, 2005

NJ: Gov. Codey Abandons Gubernatorial Bid

News from one of the two big state races taking place this year:

Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, who took office late last year to fill out his scandal-tainted predecessor's term, announced Monday he will not enter the gubernatorial race.

"God knows this has not been an easy decision for me to reach," Codey said, citing family obligations and a desire to focus on his remaining 11 months in office.

He endorsed U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine, the only Democrat to formally enter the race.

As Chris observed at MyDD, Corzine has monster leads over the two main potential GOP challengers:

• 52 - 28 percent over Bret Schundler
• 51 - 29 percent over Douglas Forrester

And don't forget Corzine's formidable personal warchest. We should be able to hold on to this seat without a great deal of difficulty. But NJ politics is always nasty, and with the gubernatorial race in VA the only other major campaign of this cycle, we can expect a lot of attention to get focues on this race.

So now here's the real question: Who is going to pick up Corzine's seat?

Posted at 02:38 PM in 2005 Elections, New Jersey | Technorati

Comments

My guess: Representative Frank Pallone.

Other options:

U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez

Congressman Rob Andrews who just backed Corzine in and was another potential candidate for the seat.

Who else?

Posted by: Tim Tagaris at January 31, 2005 03:04 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Menendez, if I had to guess. Nothing against Pallone, who is a decent congressman, but Menendez has some clout in Congress and has a fair amount of name recognition.

Posted by: Michael Romero at February 14, 2005 02:45 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment