NJ Education Report

Check out my new column at NJ Spotlight, which reconsiders the presumption that a Christie victory against Barbara Buono would provide no lift to fellow Republican candidates. If, however, Christie turns out to have some coattails, what would that mean for the remaining items on his educational bucket list, particularly school funding, vouchers, and teacher tenure?

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono appears to have acquired a reverse momentum in her long-shot campaign. With three months until the election, a combination of elements drag her down, including weak fundraising, lack of support from national and state party powerbrokers, and a charismatic opponent. 

More than 37 Democratic officials have endorsed Christie. Milly Silva, the union vice president whom Buono just chose as her lieutenant governor, has a prospective political appeal that mirrors that of her running mate, further narrowing any plausible road to the governor’s office 

So let’s call it now: Christie will win in November. Until recently, however, conventional wisdom has confined this victory to the governor alone. He has no coattails, said the pundits; according to a Quinnipiac University poll earlier this summer, “Christie’s only good for Christie.” All 120 seats are up in the state Senate and the Assembly, but the Christie shoo-in will provide no lift to Republican candidates.

Read the rest here.