November 1, 2009
Last-Ditch Push in New Jersey Race
Republican candidate Chris Christie greets supporters in Morristown, New Jersey.
By DAVID W. CHEN and DAVID M. HALBFINGER
NEWARK — President Obama swept into New Jersey on Sunday, pleading with his supporters to summon up the enthusiasm they poured into his election last November and deliver a victory for Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
President Barack Obama with New Jersey Democratic Governor Jon Corzine during a campaign rally at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Sunday.
“He’s one of the best partners I have in the White House. We work together,” Mr. Obama said. “We know our work is far from over.”
Mr. Obama’s appearances in Camden and Newark underscored the White House’s determination to stave off defeat for Mr. Corzine, the only Democratic incumbent up for re-election this year, who is facing an aggressive challenge from Christopher J. Christie, a Republican.
The race is one of several likely to be viewed as a barometer of the president’s popularity.
Virginia voters will also choose a new governor Tuesday, but there, the Republican Bob McDonnell has a double-digit lead against the Democrat Creigh Deeds, and the White House has all but conceded Mr. Deeds cannot overtake him.
In a Congressional race in upstate New York, the White House helped to engineer the surprise endorsement of the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens, by Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the Republican nominee who dropped out on Saturday. The move by Ms. Scozzafava, a moderate former small-town mayor, only intensified the intraparty fighting in a contest that has become a battle for the future of the Republican Party.
In New York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. raced across the five boroughs in last-minute appeals to voters. Mr. Bloomberg tried to ward off complacency among his supporters, with polls showing him with a comfortable lead, while a vastly underfunded Mr. Thompson tried to generate enthusiasm among core Democratic voters.
The New Jersey contest is attracting enormous attention, not only because of its closeness.
via Last-Ditch Push in New Jersey Race – NYTimes.com.
Do you like this story?
