Corzine Buys Nomination

Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Jon S. Corzine continued to tighten his grip on the Democratic Party in New Jersey. Today two published reports said acting Gov. Richard J. Codey would skip a run for a full term as governor.

From the Newark Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran – we couldn’t say it better ourselves:

Corzine hasn't said a word yet on how he would govern this state. He has no position on the budget crisis, on ethics, on property taxes, on anything. We have reached a strange new place in our politics when none of that matters.

Polls show he [Codey] is gaining on Corzine, and that during his two months as acting governor, New Jerseyans have grown to like him and believe he's doing a good job. In a match up with potential Republican candidates in the fall, he does even better than Corzine. In a democracy, that should count for something.

But Corzine's money has completely changed the calculus of this primary season. Democratic leaders know that if they choose Corzine, he will give them money and buy advertisements that will help their candidates.

If he spends anywhere near the $63 million he did in 2000, the party will have a huge advantage in November. Codey has no answer to that. That's why he's getting almost no support from the party organizations that dominate primaries.

As one of his close allies put it: "It's not how good a job you're doing, or whether you're the best candidate -- it's what you can do for the party leaders whose support you need."