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Trump, Christie center stage in race they're not part of

Posted June 07, 2017 7:00 am

By MICHAEL CATALINI

Phil Murphy talks to supporters during a Democratic primary election watch party at the Robert Treat Hotel, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Newark, N.J. Murphy won the primary and will face New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who won the Republican primary. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - President Donald Trump and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie won't be on the ballot in New Jersey this fall, but the newly minted Democratic and Republican nominees for governor and their parties are transforming one of only two statewide gubernatorial contests in the country into a race about the unpopular leaders.

Democrats nominated wealthy former Goldman Sachs executive and one-time diplomat Phil Murphy and Republicans picked Christie's top deputy, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, in New Jersey's primary Tuesday, the only statewide contest this year along with Virginia, which goes to the polls next Tuesday.

Murphy and national Democrats immediately pitched him as a bulwark against Trump and promised a departure from Christie, while Guadagno and national Republicans have come out aggressively against Murphy, bashing him for his time as an executive with Goldman Sachs and comparing him with unpopular Democratic former Gov. Jon Corzine, a Goldman alum Christie defeated in 2009.

"The race will be a proving ground for Democrats to test their anti-Trump message before the midterm elections," said Montclair State University political science professor Brigid Harrison. "(It's also) a microcosm of the struggle within the (Republican) party between forces loyal to President Trump and those who would chart a different more moderate course."

New Jersey and Virginia's elections come as national Democrats hope to deliver a blow to Trump ahead of the 2018 midterm elections when the U.S. House and a third of the Senate will be on the ballot. The contest also gives Republicans an opportunity to carve out how to compete during the Trump era.

Democrats are favored in New Jersey's general election, in part because of an 800,000-voter registration advantage and because of political headwinds stemming from Christie's and Trump's unpopularity.

"We will stand up to this president with a steel backbone," Murphy said. "We are better than Donald Trump, and we are better than Chris Christie."

In Virginia, most of the attention has focused on the close Democratic primary between Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and former Congressman Tom Perriello. Northam is a more traditional candidate, who stresses his pragmatic approach. Perriello is running a more liberal campaign, promising to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for social programs to help the poor and middle class. He's received endorsements from U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and large donations from billionaire super donors George Soros and Donald Sussman.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie is favored to win the GOP primary over a Trump's former state campaign chairman.

In New Jersey, Guadagno has to contend with Christie's unpopularity going back to the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal and his failed presidential run. She has already begun contrasting herself with the twice-elected, term-limited incumbent. Trump lost in New Jersey in 2016 and has a low approval rating with most voters.

"I'm running for governor based on my values, based on my record, based on my principles," Guadagno said. "My principles are Main Street principles."

Christie remained neutral during the campaign but said Tuesday that he voted for Guadagno. He has said he would campaign if asked, but it's unclear whether his assistance would help or hurt, since about three-quarters of voters disapprove of his job performance.

"Kim, we need a leader who will fight back against Goldman Sachs Democrats and I'm confident you are the person to do that," Christie said in a statement.

The race to take the New Jersey governor's office back from a Republican comes as Democrats nationally weigh whether distancing themselves from Wall Street will help them counter Trump and his populist Republican allies.

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Contact Catalini at https://www.twitter.com/mikecatalini

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Associated Press writer Alan Suderman contributed to this report.

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For more on the New Jersey's governor's race, go to https://apnews.com/tag/NewJerseyGovernor'sRace

As Joe Piscopo, actor, comedian and radio host, looks on New Jersey Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno celebrates at her primary election night event Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Long Branch, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) The Associated Press

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno leaves the both after voting during the primary gubernatorial election at the Church of The Precious Blood parish center, Tuesday June 6, 2017 in Monmouth Beach, N.J, New Jersey voters are getting down to the business of picking a successor to Republican Gov. Chris Christie, the winners will go on to compete in the Nov. 7 general election. Phil Murphy is the leading Democratic candidate, while Guadagno is the leading Republican. (Aristide Economopoulos/NJ Advance Media via AP) The Associated Press

Poll worker Audrey Ginsberg places an 'I Voted' sticker on Gov. Chris Christie at the Brookside Emergency Services Building during the primary election on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 in Mendham, N.J. New Jersey voters are getting down to the business of picking a successor to Christie, the winners will go on to compete in the Nov. 7 general election. Phil Murphy is the leading Democratic candidate, while Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is the leading Republican. (Bob Karp/The Daily Record via AP) The Associated Press

Kelly Odom, of Union Beach, N.J., watches election results on her phone at New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno's Republican primary election watch party Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in West Long Branch, N.J. The candidates running to replace New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fanned out across the state Tuesday as voters made their selections in the first statewide primary races since Republican President Donald Trump took office. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) The Associated Press

Phil Murphy claps while talking to supporters during a Democratic primary election watch party at the Robert Treat Hotel, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Newark, N.J. Murphy won the primary and will face New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who won the Republican primary. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

Phil Murphy speaks to supporters during a Democratic primary election watch party at the Robert Treat Hotel, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, at in Newark, N.J.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

Phil Murphy speaks to supporters during a Democratic primary election watch party at the Robert Treat Hotel, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, at in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

Phil Murphy, right, poses for a selfie with a supporter after speaking during a Democratic primary election watch party at the Robert Treat Hotel, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, at in Newark, N.J. Murphy won the primary and will face New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who won the Republican primary. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) The Associated Press

Joe Piscopo, the actor, comedian and radio host, famous for his SNL portrayal of Frank Sinatra, introduces New Jersey Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno at her primary election night event, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Long Branch, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) The Associated Press

New Jersey Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is followed by her son, Michael, as she takes the stage at her primary election night event, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Long Branch, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) The Associated Press

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