How many people, Chris Daggett wants to know, feel well represented by Republicans or Democrats in Trenton?

In a Bordentown crowd of a couple of dozen people, a few hands go up.

How many feel either party is addressing the issues facing the state? Even fewer hands.

Daggett says he, too, no longer believes either party will tackle the state's problems, which is why he is running for governor as an independent.

Daggett is new to the political game, but after a few months on the campaign trail, his pitch and delivery are growing more practiced and smooth. Trim and neatly groomed, Daggett, 59, looks the part of a candidate and engages the crowd on this warm August night with the ease of a college professor.

The Bernards Township resident talks about his background - growing up in New Jersey, his doctorate in education, his years leading the state Department of Environmental Protection and the local region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, his work in brownfields remediation, volunteering for nonprofits.

He also offers some alarming numbers New Jersey's elected officials rarely talk about: the more than $30 billion unfunded liability in government employees' pensions. The $60 billion to $70 billion in unfunded health-care liabilities. A state budget shortfall next year of between $4 billion and $10 billion, in a budget of $29 billion.

Other candidates talk about how they would solve the state's fiscal problems by cutting expenses. But do the math, Daggett says, and you would need to cut at least 80,000 state workers to close the budget gap. The state doesn't even have that many employees, which means some people would have to be fired twice.

The audience laughs.

Soon Daggett opens up the floor to questions. A woman stands up and asks what many voters are asking: As an independent candidate facing narrow odds, what, exactly, is his strategy to win? Can he win?

Daggett's objectives

Conventional wisdom is that Daggett doesn't have a chance - even though he is the first independent in state history to raise enough money to qualify for public matching funds, and in time to earn a seat at the two official debates. He has also won the endorsement of the state's largest newspaper, the Newark Star-Ledger.

Daggett contemplated races in 2001 and 2005, only to be talked out of running by various friends, who thought he couldn't win.

This time, he is not listening to them.

In Democratic Gov. Corzine, Daggett sees a surprisingly unpopular incumbent. In Republican Christopher J. Christie, he sees a one-issue candidate with no state government experience, whose lead has withered under the barrage of Corzine's negative ads.

Neither, Daggett contends, has laid out a clear plan about how he would govern New Jersey.

Add to that a debilitated economy, generous public-financing laws, and a public fed up with partisan bickering, and Daggett believes the job is within his grasp.

So yes, he tells the woman, he can win this. His first strategy: Get one more vote than the next guy. In a winner-take-all election, just 34 percent could win the race.

Daggett has momentum on his side, but still lags considerably behind the two front-runners. According to a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released yesterday, 39 percent of likely voters support Corzine to Christie's 36 percent and Daggett's 20 percent, with a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points. It was Daggett's best showing in a major public opinion poll.

Daggett's underdog status is reflected in his fund-raising as well, although it, too, is on the upswing; as of Oct. 7, Corzine had raised $16.8 million to Christie's $9.6 million and Daggett's $890,000. Christie and Daggett, who are receiving public funds, are limited to spending $11 million. Daggett estimates his net worth at $1.5 million - more than most state residents, but not enough to do much good in an election.