Students campaign in N.J. governor's race

This year’s race has been hotly contested so far, with several recent polls showing the top two contenders, incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie, within one percentage point of each other. Students and organizations on campus have been actively campaigning and said they will continue to do so in the next few weeks leading up to the election.

College Democrats president Eric Stern ’11 has been actively campaigning for Corzine since June. Stern volunteered at a Bon Jovi fundraiser concert for the Corzine campaign in June and has volunteered for the campaign in Trenton and at Rutgers to register people to vote.

The College Democrats group plans to continue its campaign activity in the two weeks leading into the election, Stern said, adding that he hopes to bring Corzine to campus. The sitting governor serves as an ex officio University trustee.

College Republicans president Andrew Kilberg ’10 has also been involved in campaigning. Kilberg said in an e-mail that the College Republicans group has been working actively with the Christie campaign.

Both College Democrats and College Republicans have been involved in registering new voters, recognizing the importance of every single vote in a close election, officers from both organizations said. “The Minnesota Senate race was decided by [about] 300 votes. One hundred votes here and there can make the difference in an election,” Stern explained.

Through the nonpartisan group P-Votes, College Republicans registered many potential Christie voters, Kilberg said, and members have also organized volunteering opportunities, like phone banking, for Christie supporters. College Democrats members, Stern explained, have also volunteered with nonpartisan voter registration efforts.

Some students, however, said they don’t think either the College Democrats or College Republicans have done a good enough job at campaigning.

Eliza Kuhn ’13, a New Jersey native, said she feels uninformed about both candidates. “I don’t feel College Democrats or College Republicans has promoted the election very well,” she said.

Monica Chow ’13, a Florida native, echoed Kuhn’s sentiment, saying she registered to vote in New Jersey but doesn’t think she will vote since she doesn’t know enough about the candidates.