Politics & Government

Christie Campaign's Cash Gives Distinctly 'Red' Hue to Map of 'Blue' Jersey

Governor's fundraising totals far exceed Buono's even in state's Democratic strongholds

By Colleen O'Dea, Courtesy of NJ Spotlight

A map of how New Jerseyans are funding the major gubernatorial candidates shows clearly why Democratic Sen. Barbara Buono has been unable to compete with Gov. Chris Christie: The Republican is out-fundraising her virtually everywhere, including in traditional Democratic strongholds.

Using data through October 14 available from the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission, NJ Spotlight calculated and mapped total contributions by ZIP code for both the primary and general gubernatorial campaigns for Christie, Buono and independent Diane Sare, the only other candidate for whom data was available.

The result is a strikingly “red” map for a “blue” state.

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People, businesses, unions and committees in four out of every five ZIP codes have given more money to Christie than to Buono. And that includes typically strong Democratic areas in Hudson, Essex and Mercer counties. The state’s legislative district map shows a swath of blue from Bergen County along the coast, across New Jersey’s waist to Trenton and then in the southwest. But most of those areas have given more to Christie this year. Buono’s home county of Middlesex is the only one where she has consistently dominated Christie in fundraising.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that 
provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.

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