APRIL SAUL / Staff Photographer
In Camden, President Obama campaigns for Gov. Corzine at the Susquehanna Bank Center. Reelecting Corzine would help "continue the progress" Obama has made, the president said.
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N.J. candidates open a final big push
President Obama urged South Jersey supporters to work hard tomorrow to reelect fellow Democrat Jon Corzine and help the incumbent governor overcome a stiff challenge from Republican Christopher J. Christie.
Christie, meanwhile, made his own pitch to rally his campaign, crossing the state in his tour bus and seizing on an Obama theme - casting himself as an agent for change who can fix New Jersey.
Independent Chris Daggett also tried to secure last-minute votes as the three major candidates make one last, hard push to energize supporters in the final days of a down-to-the-wire race.
Obama, making his second appearance for Corzine in the last 10 days, told a roaring crowd at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden that giving the governor another four years would help "continue the progress" Obama has made in Washington. He encouraged Democrats to get their family and friends to the voting booth.
"If we turn out to vote on Tuesday and we put in someone who we know is on our side, then we can continue the progress that this extraordinary state has made," Obama told an audience that organizers estimated at 6,500.
Obama, covering much of the same ground as he did in an Oct. 21 appearance on Corzine's behalf, once again referred to the governor as a "partner" in his efforts.
His 25-minute speech was interrupted several times by shouts of support, and once by an "E-A-G-L-E-S" chant when he thanked those who had come to the rally instead of the Giants-Eagles game.
The Corzine campaign is counting on the president to generate enthusiasm, particularly in urban areas where New Jersey Democrats traditionally rack up big margins. Standing high over Camden, for example, is a billboard showing Corzine and Obama with the words Keep It Going. Corzine tied himself and his agenda to the president, who also spoke in Newark yesterday.
"President Obama stands up for working families and so do I," he said. "Let's keep it going, OK?"
Corzine said that while he stood with the president, Christie was campaigning with Rep. Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican who shouted "You lie!" during Obama's health-care address to Congress. Wilson was at a rally talking up Christie's candidacy, but it was sponsored by a conservative group, not the Christie campaign. Christie did not appear with Wilson.
"Jon Corzine will say anything, even lie, in order to scare voters," Christie spokeswoman Maria Comella said.
Christie, on his tour through the state, stopped at diners and rallies to encourage his backers and tout his message of spending cuts and lower taxes. Beginning in Bergen County, a New Jersey bellwether, and working his way to Republican strongholds at the Shore, Christie portrayed a vote for Corzine as a vote for policies that have damaged the state.
Comella said Christie was greeted with enthusiasm.
"People are actually shouting back at Chris," she said. "They're really pumped up."
As Corzine has brought in Democratic stars such as the president, Christie has said voters know that it is Corzine, not Obama, who is on the ballot. The Democratic luminaries, he has said, will head back to Washington, not Trenton, when the rallies end.
Daggett began his day on CNBC and then bounced among diners, the city streets of Paterson, and the tailgating scene before the New York Jets game at the Meadowlands. The independent is trying to convince voters he can win, although a new poll showed his support slipping.
Daggett said the polls did not capture the disappointment New Jerseyans feel with the two major parties.
"This state needs a change," Daggett said by phone as his tour bus cruised between stops in northwestern New Jersey. "People are tired of both parties. They are significantly upset at what they've seen, and they are looking for an alternative."
If the public believes his motto that "it's never wrong to vote for the right person," Daggett said, "I win this election."
The importance of motivating supporters was reinforced by a poll, released yesterday morning, that showed a virtual dead heat between Christie and Corzine. The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey survey had Christie with 43 percent of likely voters' support compared with 42 percent for Corzine and 8 percent for Daggett.
"This election will be defined by turnout like few others before it," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "Many Democrats are sitting on the sidelines and not considered to be likely voters at this point. They may be unenthusiastic about their governor, but can they be prodded to the polls for other reasons? If not, Christie may eke out the win."
Corzine, burdened by the national recession, remains widely unpopular in polls, leaving him in a tight race despite Democrats' historic advantage in New Jersey.
Obama has now made three public appearances for Corzine, lending his prestige to the campaign as some pundits describe tomorrow's gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia as statements about the president.
While that may be part of the national discussion, few in New Jersey see the race in those terms. Most have focused on Corzine and the alternatives presented by Christie and Daggett.
Contact staff writer Jonathan Tamari at 609-989-9016 or jtamari@phillynews.com.
