Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine’s political career has been fueled by a seemingly bottomless reservoir of personal wealth and demographics that strongly favor his party. As he seeks re-election to a second term as Governor, a weak economy and a strong Republican challenger may well overpower those advantages.
After a nearly 25-year career with Goldman Sachs, the last five of which were spent as the company’s chairman, Corzine made his first bid for political office in 2000 when he ran for an open Senate seat. He won that race with 50 percent of the vote to 47 percent for then-GOP Rep. Bob Franks, spending $60 million of his own money in the process.
Corzine always seemed a little restless in the Senate, so it wasn’t a surprise that he announced he would run for Governor in 2005, before the end of his first Senate term. He faced nominal opposition in the primary, taking 88 percent of the vote. Corzine defeated Republican businessman Doug Forrester in the general election, 53 percent to 43 percent. That race cost him $43 million.
If Corzine’s
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