On October 8, a poll taken by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research was released for the New Jersey gubernatorial race. It shows independent candidate Chris Daggett at his highest poll result so far, 14%. Jon Corzine, Democrat, leads with 41%; Chris Christie, Republican, has 38%; other or undecided 7%.
Has the Green Party of NJ considered endorsing Daggett?
I don’t know. The Green Party is not running anyone for Governor, so it is conceivable the Green Party would endorse him.
Is NJ first-past-the-post, if not what happens if no one gets the majority?
I believe – and Richard can correct me on this – that many 3rd party candidates do well, especially up close to election day (as a protest to the establishment campaign structure), but once they actually get in the voting booth the choice (to many – rightly or wrongly) is “throw my vote away in protest” or “save our state from the greater of two evils.”
Most elections are really decided a week or so before the votes are cast. I’m more interested in how the Daggart consituency can be segmented in polling (i.e. soft/strong – who their second choice is) just before Nov. 5.
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New Jersey has first-past-the-post — the polls numbers show the impact that is likely having on Daggett, as his support is volatile and will be affected by people’s perception of whether he can win.
The Trenton Times historically has backed instant runoff voting in editorials. It ran this recent commentary:
http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1254721514240700.xml&coll=5