Forbes ’70 endorses Christie's N.J. gubernatorial bid

“[Christie] comes across as a leader who has the smarts and determination to get big things done,” Forbes said in a column on forbes.com announcing his endorsement last Wednesday.

Forbes likened Christie, a former U.S. attorney, to former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani for his reputation as a reformer, writing that Christie can accomplish the same “turnaround miracle” for New Jersey that Giuliani did for his city.

“For the first time in too long, New Jersey may well elect a governor who is a strong leader, who will turn around the economically laggard, overtaxed, debt-ridden, corruption-laden Garden State,” Forbes said.

Forbes blamed incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine for New Jersey’s “self-inflicted” economic woes. High taxes, ballooning spending and a bloated health care system have all worsened under Corzine’s watch, Forbes said.

“Once upon a time the state was a regional and national leader, whose economic growth was always better than that of others,” he said. “How that has now changed.”

Forbes, who wrote that high income and business taxes are driving residents and revenue away from the state, supports Christie’s plan to cut both rates.

“A New Jersey governor’s powers are the strongest in the nation,” Forbes said. “Christie is a man who will know how to use them to their fullest.”

A new statewide poll released April 7 shows Christie leading Corzine with less than seven months to go until the Nov. 3 general election.

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The survey, conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind, gives Christie a nine-point advantage over Corzine, 42 percent to 33 percent. A poll by the same firm released in March showed Christie with a similar lead.

The April 7 poll also showed Christie leading former Bogota, N.J., mayor and fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan by 22 points in the June 2 primary election, 43 percent to 21 percent.

“Sometimes timing is everything,” Peter Woolley, a politics professor at Fairleigh-Dickinson and director of the poll, said in a statement. “[Corzine’s] the only incumbent governor in the country up for election this year as the financial crisis hits.”

The same poll showed that 49 percent of respondents disapprove of Corzine’s job in office, while just 40 percent approve, and that 56 percent have an unfavorable opinion of him.

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Voters rejected many of Corzine’s budget proposals by a wide margin. Seventy-two percent opposed the governor’s plan to raise income taxes on residents earning $250,000 or more by 5 percent and eliminate property tax rebates for all but the elderly. Revenue-generating options, like a 10-cent-a-pack increase in the $2.58-a-pack cigarette levy and higher taxes on liquor, have also been met with public disfavor.

“A Christie victory in November will be a tonic to the national economy,” Forbes said. “New Jersey would once again be an economic growth engine, with its success a model for states, such as neighboring New York.”