OK, but they are different animals (politically anyway). There are 12 candidates for NJ governor. Excluding the top three the rest are divided between independents and alternative party candidates. I predict that the indies (excluding Daggett) will get more votes than the partisans.

I think indies tend to do better because they are not bound by a rigid ideology or restrictive platform. They have more flexibility to campaign and even change their policies if needed. They are not hamstrung by party activists and ideological purists.

I haven’t seen Daggett’s campaign reports but I did look at NJLP candidate Murray Sabrin’s in 1997 and nearly half of Murray’s expenditures were for administrative overhead, consultant fees and managerial expenses. I’ll bet Daggett’s overhead is alot less than Sabrin because he doesn’t have to pay or be accountable to party regulars to keep them happy.

What “third party movement”? Daggett is an independent candidate and has nothing to do with any political party. That’s been part of his strength is that he appeals across the political spectrum since he is not identified with any party ideology.

I voted for Daggett by mail partly because he isn’t tied to any party ideology or platform.

It’s too bad that the latest polls have Daggett losing support because of “wasted vote syndrome” I think the only way an independent candidate can win in New Jersey is name recognition/celebrity status and/or lots of money.

George Phillies is one of the leaders of the Massachusetts Libertarian Party so I expect his candidate will have that Party’s endorsement if not the Party line. Of course, If I’m wrong, then some other candidate will run as the “Libertarian” candidate and then there will be two libertarian candidates.

Whether he’s independent, libertarian, conservative, socialist, Republican or Democrat doesn’t really matter as far as I’m concerned. It’s still disrespectful and sleazy to exploit the death of Senator Ted Kennedy and run for his seat using the same name as his almost equally famous nephew who, had he chosen to run, would have won easily and was a hundred times more qualified.

Anyone is “allowed” to run for office, and make a complete fool of themselves, provided they meet the legal requirements.

I’m also allowed to call them a fool.

Baloney. It may be the name he was born with, but by any other name I doubt very much he would be in this race. Besides, how long has he been a member of the LP, and how many times has he run for office before as a Libertarian?

This is nothing more than a sleazy publicity stunt which will grab some cheap headlines and then he, like the rest of the LP, will be forgotten.

No one gets to choose the name he was born with, though some may wonder if you are posting under your actual name, or just claiming the wisdom of Solomon. However, Joe Kennedy is running with the name with which he was born. It is a reasonably common name.

It’s called “Independent Political Report” and Chris Daggett is as independent as any candidate can get. He is not affiliated in any way with a third party. Which is probably to his advantage since he’s not tied to any one part of the political spectrum.

“First off, votes can’t be “taken” from anyone. They go where they go, and the race is so close in NJ that it can’t be said what would happen if Daggett wasn’t in it.”

Of course I can’t be certain (nothing is in politics). However Daggett does seem to be suffering from “wasted vote syndrome” which means the number of voters who like him is much greater than the number of voters who actually vote for him. Murray Sabrin suffered the same way when he polled over ten percent in 1997 but got less than five percent of the vote.

Part of Daggett’s problem is the lack of a fundraising base. He has some good commercials but nowhere near enough money to compete effectively, despite public financing and appearing in the debates.

I still think he’ll get most of his votes in GOP districts. That does not mean he’s taking votes away from Christie, but it does mean that his message is more likely resonating with the same voter base who would otherwise be more likely to vote for Christie. I also think if he does not hit ten percent Christie will win. If he does get much more than ten percent this election will be very close or swing to Corzine.

“And every candidate is always worth mentioning. That’s the point of this website.”

Agreed. But some candidates are worth of mentioning more often than others.

JoeKennedyForSenate.com”

George Phillies,

At this point I have more respect for Wayne Root than I do for the silly shenanigans you’re trying to pull in Massachusetts. It won’t work, any media exposure you get will be negative, you’re just making yourself and your party look foolish, and in the end you won’t get much more than you would have gotten with a respectable, though perhaps more low-key campaign.

I never thought my respect for the LP and its leaders could get any lower than it was when they nominated Barr/Root until now.

And yes, I do admire and respect the Kennedy family even though I may not agree with them politically.

First off, votes can’t be “taken” from anyone. They go where they go, and the race is so close in NJ that it can’t be said what would happen if Daggett wasn’t in it.

And every candidate is always worth mentioning. That’s the point of this website.

He’ll be lucky if he actually gets more than ten percent of the vote, in which case he’ll probably hurt the GOP candidate and swing the election to the Democrat.

As to the other nine third party/independent candidates they are so far off the radar it’s not even worth mentioning except for the NJLP which has come way down from the impact it once had when they ran a credible candidate in 1997.

In New York Hoffman has been enthusiastically embraced by the GOP and for all practical purposes is the GOP candidate. It has always been common in New York for GOP candidates to run on the Conservative ticket. However the candidate chosen by party bosses this year was so far to the left she made the Democrat seem conservative. That’s why the Conservatives gave their line to Hoffman.

The Conservative Party did win a statewide victory in New York in 1970 when they elected James Buckley, brother of Bill Buckley, to the US Senate to fill the seat left by Bobby Kennedy. He ran against a liberal (Rockefeller) Republican and a Democrat.

JoeKennedyForSenate.com

Joe’s party line is “Liberty”.