Know Your Candidates
Posted September 18, 2009

Yesterday, the Planned Parenthood Action Committee of New Jersey endorsed Governor Jon Corzine and his running mate, Senator Loretta Weinberg, for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.

Referring to the pair as "passionate advocates for women's rights," Planned Parenthood Action Committee's press release noted, "[E]ach have a long and consistent record of standing up for women's health care," adding, "We need a Governor willing to work to improve access to quality health care for women, support and protect a woman's right to choose, support comprehensive sex education to keep our young people healthy and safe, and invest in prevention programs, including family planning services…."

This endorsement came as no surprise, as Governor Corzine's pro-abortion views have long been known.

Meanwhile, while Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie is pro-life – stating such as well as affirming his support for parental notification laws, a ban on partial-birth abortion, and a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion – his running mate, Kim Guadagno, is pro-abortion, as is independent candidate for governor Christopher Daggett. 

But will the candidates respective views on this critical issue make a difference in the upcoming election?

According to a recent Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll, released on Sunday, only one percent of registered voters and likely voters listed abortion as one of the top two issues they would like to hear the candidates for governor address.

Instead, the issue taking an overwhelming lead in voter interest was property taxes, with issues like the economy, healthcare, and education coming in a distant second, third, and fourth.

Additionally, same-sex marriage did not even rank as an issue of primary importance, registering 0% among both registered voters and likely voters in terms of those who listed it as one of the top two issues the candidates should talk about. This, of course, begs the question, do voters even know where the candidates stand on the issue of marriage? These numbers are in stark contrast to the statewide poll we ran in 2007 where 9% of likely voters said marriage was the most important issue and 21% stated that marriage was one of the top 5 issues. You have to wonder about who was actually polled by Monmouth/Gannett to have such stark differences in the numbers, and it appears suspect to think that many voters have changed their minds over two years.

The reality is that the issues that many voters deem unimportant – life and family – are the very issues on which society rises or falls. Yet, unfortunately, not only are many voters uninterested, many are also unaware, and the poll also found that approximately 4 in 10 voters "say they have little or no idea what either candidate … would do in the next four years as governor."

In a nation founded on the principles of representative government, this is unacceptable. As responsible citizens, we have a duty both to care about the critical issues facing our state and to educate ourselves regarding them.

The NJFPC is preparing voter guides to help New Jerseyans become better informed about the gubernatorial candidates, their running mates, and the candidates for New Jersey General Assembly.

The future of our state is too important to be left to chance or – worse yet – to an uninformed electorate.

The 2009 NJFPC New Jersey Voter Guides will be available October 5. Contact us at 1-800-653-7204 to request your copies today. (Bulk copies in increments of 100 are available; individual copies will be available for downloading on the Internet.)

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