Christie Pounding Rivals; Democrats to Interfere

With the Republican primary for the governor's race coming up in a few weeks, it may be all over but the shouting:

Two weeks before the primary in the New Jersey Governor's race, former federal prosecutor Christopher Christie leads former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan 56 - 33 percent among likely Republican primary voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

That's a big hill to climb. And speaking of big hills, Jon Corzine should be shopping for some hiking gear:

Among all registered voters, Gov. Jon Corzine trails Christie 45 - 38 percent, identical to the results of the April 22 survey. ...

In the Corzine - Christie matchup, independent voters back the Republican 52 - 25 percent, a 2-1 margin that has been consistent for several months.

Never one to eschew dirty pool, Corzine is calling on the shadowy DC-based "Mid-Atlantic Leadership Fund" to sabatoge Christie's campaign:

The Mid-Atlantic Leadership Fund, a Washington-based organization with ties to Democrats, has purchased about $900,000 worth of New York and Philadelphia TV ads attacking GOP gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie.

There has been speculation for weeks that Democrats would seek to influence the Republican primary for Governor by spending some money to beat up on Christie, with the hope that he can boost Steve Lonegan's chances to win the GOP nomination.

But even the rabid partisans at Daily Kos have come to realize this is a lost cause:

Contrary to the best hopes of some Democrats, it looks like conservative insurgent candidate Steve Lonegan is going to come up short in his bid against GOP favorite Chris Christie. Monmouth has Christie up by eighteen (50-32), Quinnipiac has Christie up by twenty-three (56-33). Quinnipiac compounds the wound by releasing a general election poll showing a consistent trend: both Republicans with leads, but Lonegan (42-40) more vulnerable to a comeback bid than Christie (45-38).

Well, Dirty Jon's is not going to go down without a fight, and without spending an unprecedented amount of his own billions. But like we just learned in California, outspending your opponents 6-1 doesn't insure victory, or even prevent a landslide defeat...