Attack Ads Begin Early in NJ's Gubernatorial Race

The race for governor has gotten nasty earlier than usual, with attack ads hitting the airwaves, Internet, and phone lines less nearly a month before New Jersey's June 2 primary.
    
Once considered a long shot to win the Republican primary, Steve Lonegan seems to be closing in on former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, the favorite of the state's GOP establishment. Lonegan is now within 10 percentage points of Christie in polls -- and only slightly behind Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine in general election polls.
    
Unable to ignore those surging poll numbers and the draw Lonegan may have among more conservative Republicans -- the kind who are most likely to show up for a primary -- Christie's campaign went on the offensive on YouTube with an ad that tries to portray Lonegan as just that: offensive.
    
Using video from a 2005 documentary on Lonegan's run for re-election as Bogota mayor, the 95-second ad shows Lonegan spewing expletives and yelling into the phone. It also highlights his losing runs for state senate, Congress, county executive and governor.
    
Christie campaign manager Bill Stepien called the ad a "lighthearted'' look at Lonegan's tax plan and failed runs for elected office. But campaign watchers say the ad is an attempt to portray Lonegan as a hothead unable of beating Corzine in a general election.
    
"He hasn't shown the ability to win, that's for sure,'' Stepien said, adding that the campaign will decide whether to air the ad on television after they see the response from its Internet debut.
    
Lonegan spokesman Rick Shaftan said the ad shows just how scared Christie is of his closest Republican opponent.
    
"They are trying to make Steve look unflattering. It's a sign they're pretty desperate,'' Shaftan said.
    
Lonegan's campaign hasn't sponsored any television attack ads against Christie, but a conservative group called Freedom's Defense Fund has started airing cable television ads in Ocean, Morris and Bergen Counties -- all Republican strongholds. The group accuses Christie of accepting campaign donations from lawyers he hand-picked for lucrative federal contracts while he was U.S. attorney.
    
It focuses heavily on a former U.S. attorney in Manhattan who investigated a stock fraud case involving Christie's younger brother, Todd, but declined to prosecute him.
    
Lonegan's campaign says it's not coordinating attacks on Christie.
    
"As far we're concerned, we don't need help from anyone,'' Shaftan said.
    
However, Lonegan is about to get some advertising help from an unlikely source: Democrats.
    
The Democratic Governors Association will try to help re-elect Corzine by running advertisements targeting Christie by focusing on the same points as the Freedom's Defense Fund group, according to a person who knows about the advertising plan but who is not authorized to speak about it publicly.
    
Both the Christie and Lonegan campaigns are running radio adds and using automated phone messages reach voters. Christie has relied more heavily on endorsements from others, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, one of the state's better-known conservatives. In Lonegan's calls, he defends himself directly from criticism of his tax plan, which Christie has attacked in his ads.
    
"For months, Chris Christie has hidden from my campaign. But now I'm surging in the polls and they're running some of the most ridiculous negative ads imaginable,'' Lonegan's most recent radio ad begins.
    
Lonegan, meanwhile, is going negative in radio ads, attacking Christie by using the former prosecutor's own words about how quickly he will cut taxes and whether he believes abortion should remain legal.
    
New Jersey and Virginia are the only states holding gubernatorial elections this year.
    
Montclair State University political scientist Brigid Harrison said the primary race has become fierce a few weeks earlier than usual.
    
"This is probably indicative of the stakes,'' she said. "Republican candidates or their organizations believe they actually have a shot at this gubernatorial election.''