New Jersey

Corzine Hits Christie at the Belt

Governor's TV ads call out opponent's weight.

Talk about heavy-hitting campaign spots. Television ads and web videos in support of New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine appear to be taunting his challenger Christopher Christie about his weight. One such spot shows the Republican exiting his S.U.V. in slow motion and asserts that the former U.S. attorney “threw his weight around” to dodge traffic tickets. While Corzine—who has been conspicuously running 5k and 10k races almost every weekend—denies that the phrasing and imagery is deliberately calling attention to Christie’s weight, the ad has drawn criticism from Jersey Republicans, who have called it “purposeful” and “offensive.” Nonetheless, a recent Monmouth University survey found that when voters were asked to say the first word that came to mind when discussing Christie, “fat” was among the most frequent responses. Christie, who has struggled with his weight since his late teens, said he is “numb” to fat jokes, and that working with a personal trainer has allowed him to drop 25 pounds since June, but the nominee would not reveal his current weight to the New York Times.