Christie focusing on Corzine

On a recent afternoon in Trenton, Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher J. Christie declined to pounce on his major primary opponent's vulnerability. Asked to comment on Steve Lonegan's now-resolved troubles with a state campaign-finance agency, Christie reflexively said, "No."

Christie had dedicated the day to blaming Democratic Gov. Corzine for the state's high unemployment rate.

Corzine, in turn, shrugged off Christie's criticism, saying: "It's political season, right?"

Republican and Democratic analysts say Corzine, a multimillionaire, will have plenty of time and money to engage his opponent in the fall. Christie, however, could risk alienating his party's conservative base by ignoring Lonegan, they say.

Christie "should use the primary to build conservative credentials," said Tony Bawidamann, a longtime Democratic consultant in New Jersey, Florida, and other states. "I'd give Lonegan a run for his money with that group. He doesn't have to run all over the board; he can talk about faith and values and not be pigeonholed in the general election."

Before he declared his candidacy in February, voters knew little about Christie's views on the state's problems or on social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, that often influence the results of Republican primaries.

Lonegan, the former mayor of Bogota, began establishing himself statewide in the 2005 governor's race, when he came in fourth among seven GOP primary candidates. Then, as the New Jersey director of the antitax Americans for Prosperity, he weighed in on toll hikes and other state spending issues.

Christie spent the last seven years as U.S. attorney, capturing headlines as he secured guilty pleas and convictions of more than 100 elected and appointed officials. A one-term Morris County freeholder, Christie raised money for President George W. Bush in 2000.

In interviews, Christie has claimed conservative values, but so far he has not made a big deal of them.

Though once a supporter of abortion rights, Christie said, he decided to oppose abortion after he saw a sonogram of his first child. He's fine with civil unions, benefits, and rights for same-sex couples, but opposes gay marriage.

Christie is trying to reach every Republican he can before the June 2 primary, and that includes the most conservative, said his campaign spokeswoman, Brittany Bramell.

Republican political consultant Dave Murray, a veteran of New Jersey gubernatorial campaigns, said the centrist Christie was playing a safe, front-runner strategy.

"Should Christie engage Lonegan and beat him up, he'll come into [the general election] with a fractured base," Murray said. "It's easier to repair the base if you've run a gentleman's type of campaign."

But Murray pointed out that former U.S. Rep. Bob Franks tried to ignore former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler in the 2001 Republican gubernatorial primary and lost.

If Christie wins the primary, Murray said, Lonegan's supporters will come back to the fold simply because they would have nowhere else to go.

"One thing we know is the core conservative vote comes back in the end, as it did for Christie Whitman, even though they didn't like her," he said.