University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato — perhaps the most widely quoted professor in the nation, and the greatest guy for every reporter to call on any political topic — has just Tweeted his take on tomorrow’s New Jersey Republican primary: “If Chris Christie wins, GOP can oust unpopular Gov. Corzine. If Steve Lonegan wins, Corzine probably wins again.”
I don’t know that it’s quite that simple; voter dissatisfaction with Corzine is high enough to make him nervous against any challenger, and Lonegan actually leads by a small margin over Corzine in recent polling. But Christie’s name recognition is higher, his favorables are higher, and his lead over Corzine is higher.
(A new poll out this morning from Fairleigh Dickinson University gives Christie a 24-point lead, 54 percent to 30 percent.)
Plus, I don’t quite know how this will shake out, but the hefty Christie has a strong resemblance to incoming New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan.
Insert jokes about who faces the bigger “rebuilding job” here.