Paul DiGaetano to run for NJ Governor

[NewJerseyDem]

http://www.politicsnj.com/

Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano announced today that he expects to seek the Republican nomination for Governor in 2005.

Two day after his party lost six Assembly seats in a mid-term election that was expected to favor Republicans, DiGaetano said that he would not fight Morris County Assemblyman for the Minority Leader post. He also said that he has ruled out running for re-election to his Assembly seat.

DiGaetano has hired Republican political consultant Kieran Mahoney, who was the chief strategist for George Pataki's successful campaign for Governor of New York against Mario Cuomo in 1994. Mahoney associate Greg Strimple will also be involved with the DiGaetano campaign.

“It is a sad commentary on the state of the Republican Party that they might nominate a guy for governor who barely held his own seat on Election Day, who led his party to a historic defeat in the Legislature, and who is so wrong on the issues that he threatened to shut down the government this year," said Adam Green, a spokesman for the Democratic State Committee. "Only Republican politicians would say, ‘Hey, let’s run this guy for governor!’”

[CMT]

1. It was a good day for Dems in NJ

now Gov. McGreevey in the next two years has to take advantage of this and reconnect and improve his image with NJ voters.