Doug Forrester

U.S. Senator Jon Corzine handily beat Doug Forrester in New Jersey's race for governor. The Democrat won 53% to 44% thanks to strong turnout from his base in key North Jersey urban counties and adjacent suburban districts. The strong showing by union voters gave Mr. Corzine a somewhat bigger win than last-week's tightening polls suggested.

Who was the winner in this weekend's debate between Doug Forrester and Jon Corzine? It was the moderator, WNBC's Gabe Pressman. Mr. Pressman was visibly pleased by the candidates' near constant sparring: Accusations and denials punctuated answers to almost every question. Mr. Pressman, a local legend, has been on the air in the New York City area for 60 years and is credited with coining the term "hippie" among other broadcast coups.

Quick, take this test: A candidate who opposes renewing a nuclear power plant's license, opposes development on prime riverfront land, balks at lowering income taxes and is pro-choice is from which party?

In New Jersey's governor's race, Republican candidate Doug Forrester has significantly chipped away at Democrat Jon Corzine's lead, from 18 points this summer to seven points last week, according to a Quinnipiac poll. If Mr. Forrester doesn't catch up and loses, it may be his best campaign proposal that does him in.

The air war between New Jersey's gubernatorial candidates is white hot, but it hasn't yet reached its crescendo. In the latest commercial, Republican Doug Forrester has a narrator speak about Democrat Jon Corzine's relationships with scandal-tainted Democrats and a $470,000 loan he forgave for a former girlfriend, Carla Katz, who heads the state-employee labor union that endorsed him soon after.

Where else but in New Jersey can an announcement that almost 5,000 dead people voted in last November's election be seen as a failure by both parties to turn out the vote? (After all, an even larger number of dead people were found to be registered.) Yet despite a reputation for smelly politics and smelly highway exits, New Jersey is a state to watch this year. Its gubernatorial election has the potential to trigger an important shift on the way to the 2008 presidential race.

PLAINSBORO, N.J. -- Doug Forrester won the New Jersey Republican primary for governor, beating his closest rival, Bret Schundler, by five percentage points in a light-turnout election. One issue dominated the campaign: Soaring property taxes.

New Jersey holds its primary for governor today. Democrat Jon Corzine faces no serious opposition. Among the seven Republicans, businessman Doug Forrester and former Jersey City mayor Bret Schundler are leading the pack. Recent Quinnipiac polls have Mr. Forrester widening and then losing much of his lead over Mr. Schundler. Mr. Forrester now leads by two points, down from 11 points less than a week ago.

The field of seven Republican candidates for New Jersey governor held their first televised debate Sunday. For the five playing catch-up to front-runners Doug Forrester and Bret Schundler, the debate was their first chance to prove their conservative bona fides to a state-wide audience. The primary is June 7.

With New Jersey's gubernatorial primary about a month away, the leading Republican candidates are coming into view. Good thing for the front-runner that it's tough to quote the crickets in print.