Romney, nominally somewhat more conservative than Rudy, can't win the state, but Rudy supposedly can. The state that's been a lock for Dems in the last 4 elections. What does that say about where Rudy is on the political spectrum, and thus about what Republican primary voters should or will likely think about him?
Fred is the solution to the Republicans' problems. Bush won twice without NJ, and so can Fred. I question whether Rudy can, not knowing that he dropped out of the Senate race with Hillary while far behind her (allegedly for health reasons, but I don't really believe that).
He was also going through a messy tabloid divorce at the time. He would have given Hillary a run for her money otherwise.
That being said, in an election between him and Joe Lieberman, I honestly wouldn't know what to do.
I would be surprised if even Giuliani could win NJ. Some polls still show him beating HRC there? Hard to believe. Last polls I saw showed him behind in NJ and another state they had hopes he could carry, PA. Forget NY. As far as NJ goes, they are the state that reelected LOUSE-enberg in ‘02 even after he said he would oppose the death penalty for the 9/11/01 hijackers. That was the indication to me that the state is beyond hope.
I suppose if Romney is the nominee he can hope to eek out a win in MI but I can’t see him taking many other Demo states. With MI pretty much in a depression we can hope voters will take this out on the Dems who run the state. Plus a lot of voters there supposedly remain fond of Mitt’s father, the former governor. Sounds like maybe he would have a better shot at MI than NJ, PA, and certainly MA.
Rudy can win in NJ because he can pull the independent voters in a 90 mile radius of NYC WTC.
Independent mostly from deep thought, these non-thinking voters have accepted the media’s casting of Rudy as the Hero Hizzonor of the area’s largest tragedy of our generation.
Romney has so many strikes against him for independents here in NJ, he’s Mormon, he’s from Boston, and he’s got a campaign that uses family values and his weird Utah/Boston accent. Independents don’t want to vote for a religious man (really doesn’t matter what religion), don’t want to vote for a Red Sox fan, and don’t want to listen to another Republican with a weird accent lecture Jerseyites about family values. That’s about as deep as the NJ media is permitted to delve into electoral politics in this state, and is the height of the foo foo political conversations in the state.