Corzine Win Puts NJ in Play

Sen. Jon Corzine's thumping of Doug Forrester has put the New Jersey Senate race in play. Corzine now has the opportunity to choose his successor, something that must not be taken lightly. Many think that Corzine has his eyes on the Presidency, and this opportunity will prove a double-edged sword. He can reach out to Hispanics by tapping Rep. Robert Menendez or, more likely, he will look to please the Democrat establishment by selecting the man whom he will be replacing, acting Gov. Dick Codey, whom the Democrats consider their strongest candidate.

So far the only announced Republican candidate is Tom Kean, Jr., a Whitman Republican. Forrester's underperformance shows that Republican losses in New Jersey are not a result of candidates being too conservative, but a result of a lack of principle in the Party as a whole. In fact, the small but essential Party base has had little to get excited about since 2001. Even then, though, the Party establishment was more interested in promoting a far left agenda than electing Bret Schundler, as evidenced by the fact that they attended a pro-choice Republican organization fundraiser instead of a Schundler fundraiser just a week before the election. It is time for the GOP establishment to stay out of the primary and do its job of helping to elect the chosen candidate of the rank-and-file.

State Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio, who was just reelected last night, could emerge as a conservative alternative to Kean. If Pennacchio emerges from a spirited primary that focuses on defeating the incumbent rather than a civil war, the GOP has a shot at pulling off the upset. A Kean candidacy, especially if it comes as a result of a cleared field, would likely result in yet another defeat for the fledgling New Jersey Republican Party. To be sure, New Jersey is not a conservative state waiting to be won by a Coburn-type candidate, but principled fiscal conservatism could be rewarded with a Senate seat regardless of the nominee's position on social issues.

New Jersey still falls between the "Likely Democrat" and "Lean Democrat" categories, but the decisions of Corzine and Pennacchio will go a long way toward determining whether it will stay there.