Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute Hosts Post-Primary Analysis

Panelists: Hazel Gluck, partner of MBI-Gluck Shaw, former New Jersey state cabinet official and former Republican officeholder, adviser and campaign strategist; Jim McQueeney, political analyst for News 12 New Jersey, chair of Winning Strategies, and former chief of staff to Sen. Frank Lautenberg; Charles Stile, political columnist and former Trenton bureau chief for The Record; Michael Symons, State House bureau news editor, Gannett New Jersey.

 Moderator: John Weingart, associate director, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

The GOP debates have been held, and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan were always welcome. The same cannot be said for the No. 3 candidate, Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham Township), who was not deemed a viable candidate in some circles. The TV and radio commercials keep running, however, and front-runner Christie has turned his attention from Lonegan to Corzine. But odds are the turnout for the June 2 primary will be rather light as usual. And turnout surely will be one of the variables discussed by the panelists at the Eagleton Institute’s “Morning After” program, along with the candidates’ promises to cut taxes, eliminate or maintain property tax rebates, and cut waste in state government. No doubt they will also discuss Corzine’s first-term record and New Jersey’s deepening fiscal crisis.