NJ Gubernatorial Election Update: How conservative is Chris Christie? And how conservative is New Jersey?

Post-primary election activity is heating up and democrats have ratcheted up their criticism of Republican opponent Chris Christie. And Chris Christie is doing nothing to avoid it.

On the evening of June 11th, gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (who was appointed by George W. Bush) held a fundraiser, featuring, as the main headliner, former presidential candidate Mit Romney. In a state where Democratic president Barack Obama has a 70% approval rating - a full 10% over the national average - one must wonder why Christie, so soon, would align himself with such a conservative figure.

Romney's social policies are truly conservative, and not particularly in line with how more progressive New Jerseyan's tend to feel about social issues. A day after Christie's fundraiser, US Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside park) said, according Politcker NJ, "Chris Christie is kicking off his (general election) campaign with a conservative Republican whose extreme right-wing positions couldn't be more out of touch with New Jersey residents." Two days earlier, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) made similar comments, noting that Christie is far too conservative and is aligning himself with national conservative figures who are often seen as far more right-wing than New Jersey is.

Is Chris Christie purposefully aligning himself with national, though well-known, political figures hoping for what comedy political commentator Stephen Colbert refers to (when he is the endorser) as the "Colbert Bump," or is Chris Christie genuinely too conservative for New Jersey? Although democratic incumbent Jon Corzine has not been advertising for as long as Christie, the Republican is up by 10 points in recent polls. This suggests that the only way we will answer who is the right person for New Jersey is on November 4th. However, as new developments occur, and new poll numbers are released, it will be interesting to see how effective each candidate's advertising campaign is in reaching New Jersey voters that certainly aren't conservative but, on the other hand, frustrated with the financial situation the state is in.

Sources & Reading
http://www.politickernj.com/max/30575/lautenberg-throws-christie-and-romney-bush-bundle
http://www.politickernj.com/matt-friedman/30506/mendnez-and-pascrell-paint-christie-red