By all measures, this is shaping up to be a good week for Jon Corzine. He’s up in the polls (albeit very slightly) for the first time all cycle, Chris Cristie’s campaign promises are falling flat and the head of the DGA over the weekend that his money’s on Corzine taking the win in November.
But a part of any Corzine victory strategy requires independent candidate Chris Daggett to take a big bite out of the moderate and anti-Corzine that might otherwise go to Christie. Some observers say Corzine needs Daggett to pull as much as 10% of voters on Nov. 3 to secure reelection over Christie. New talk about Daggett’s location on the ballot does not bode well for Corzine supporters hoping for big (but not too big) Daggett numbers.
Though he’s the only one to share a debate stage with Corzine and Christie, Daggett is actually just one of 10 non-major party candidates in the race. Under NJ law, that means for most voters he’ll be hard to find on the ballot. State law dictates that major party candidates be guaranteed the first two slots on the ballot, while third party candidates and independents have their ballot placement determined by lot.
The Press Of Atlantic City reports:
In two of the key southern New Jersey counties, Atlantic and Ocean, Daggett received the last-possible placement among the columns. Don’t even run your index finger along the same line as Corzine and Christie – Daggett is tucked a row below.
The story is the same across New Jersey. Voters interested in voting against the unpopular Corzine may step into the voting booth to find their only visible option to be Christie. So it could be the law designed to keep major party candidates front and center could end up being the Democrat’s undoing.
