I’m keeping an eye on the New Jersey Republican gubernatorial primary, where fans of the candidate in second place, former Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan, are arguing that their man is poised to overtake the favorite: “Remember that 300,000 people are going to vote in this election on June 2nd, and an overwhelming amount of them will be conservatives — people who are ideologically much closer to Lonegan than Christie. By the time we get done with our voter contact program, they’re going to be aware of that . . .”

That may be the case. But Christie has his own backers who are willing to tout his fiscal conservative bona fides. Former presidential candidate and free marketer extraordinaire Steve Forbes offers Christie a pretty hearty endorsement:

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. Chris Christie, the probable Republican candidate, has what it takes to perform the kind of turnaround miracle that Rudy Giuliani accomplished during his eight years as mayor of New York City . . .
Chris Christie is a former U.S. attorney who won regional renown for his relentless and successful prosecutions of political wrongdoers in both parties. He won conviction after conviction in a state that national pundit George F. Will once ranked with Louisiana as the most corrupt in the country.
I had the opportunity recently to spend a little time with Christie. He comes across as a leader who has the smarts and determination to get big things done. Like Giuliani, Christie won’t let conventional political wisdom deter him from his course, and he has the political savvy and persistence to make the needed breakthroughs.