Dan McDonough Jr., who has lived in New Jersey all of his life, is an editorial board member of the Courier-Post in South Jersey. He has worked for five different news companies in the state.

Can money buy an election? New Jersey may soon provide the answer to that age-old question. The initial results indicate that the answer might be yes, indeed.

Jon Corzine, who has somewhere between $300 million and $400 million, has poured a piece of his Wall Street-grown fortune into a bid for the Senate seat up for grabs in New Jersey. He is expected to spend $25 million on the primary race alone, a national record for a Senate primary, and 10 times the amount his competitor, former Gov. James J. Florio, is expected to spend.

By default, campaign-finance control has become a de facto issue in this campaign. Only months ago, it seemed Florio had the Democratic nomination all but sewn up. He was some 24% ahead of Corzine, former co-chairman of the prestigious Goldman, Sachs & Co. investment bank. Over the past few weeks, and after a plethora of Corzine TV ads invaded homes in the New York and Philadelphia markets, Florio's lead eroded. As of mid-May, only weeks before New Jersey's June 6 primary election, Corzine had the lead in the polls, albeit a slim one.

How did the unknown underdog catch up to a career politician? Pollsters and political analysts agreed: It has to be the ads. And it takes big money to buy such prime TV spots.

A liberal's liberal

Candidates Florio, left, & Corzine during a live debate.

But Corzine is a bit scary. His first round of ads were soft, and they could take the average prime-time TV viewer into a comfy place with close-up shots of his teddy-bear-like bearded face and talk of happy stuff: universal health care for all, a new Social Security invested in part in the stock market and free college tuition, among other lofty promises. To the politically astute, however, they made Corzine look more like a candidate for junior-high-school president promising all kinds of junkets on which he could not deliver.

The question is simple: Whom does Corzine think he was kidding? The Senate would not listen to any of his radically liberal ideas. He lacks a platform that would carry significant weight in Washington and thus get him elected in New Jersey.

His inexperience in politics, and his naivete, are -- ahem -- attractive. He looks like he really cares about us little folks. But it is hard to overlook that the man is calling for some hefty changes, some liberal changes. That kind of hooey will not go too far in the general election against a level-headed, home-grown Jersey Republican who can muster some respect in the capitol.

The GOP

The Republican primary is the tail end of a horse race where the crowd is looking to see which candidate will come in third place. All are pretty similar on the issues, and the fight for the nomination lacks the vigor and polarity of the Democratic race. Yet while all eyes are on the Democrats, one of the GOP candidates does have a peculiar edge.

Murray Sabrin is a funny guy. A college finance professor, he is running in the wrong party. Last year, Sabrin made the history books when he became the first third-party candidate for governor in New Jersey to raise enough cash for matching campaign funds. He was the Libertarian candidate for governor, but today he will tell you he is the only real Republican in the primary.

The "fake" Republicans seeking the nomination are Essex County Executive James Treffinger, Rep. Robert Franks and state Sen. William Gormley. All are Jersey Republicans --- socially moderate, fiscally conservative and supporters of some fashion of gun control who would sooner debate the minutia of regulations than the philosophy of regulating. A key contention in the GOP race: how to curb the aircraft noise that disrupts contemplative New Jersey residents. Zzzzzzz

A name with baggage

On the other hand, just say the name "Florio" in some part of this state, and you are bound to evoke some emotions --- mostly, nearly always, negative emotions. Though he has been out of the governor's mansion for years, anytime Florio's name graces a newspaper, it is usually followed by a mention of his signature $2.8-billion tax hike.

Back in his waning days as governor, you could see the "Dump Florio" bumper stickers on Mercedes cars and pick-up trucks alike. After all, who could like a guy who had the audacity to tax toilet paper? Lo and behold, we got Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman as the antidote, with her promise --- and delivery --- of big income-tax cuts.

What people did not quite realize was that Florio had little say in the matter of taxes. He walked into a $600-million deficit in the state budget and had to face a court decision mandating more spending in the state's deprived school districts. In New Jersey, or anywhere for that matter, government pays the bills by raising taxes. And the state's voters are catching on to this reality.

Only months ago, a poll of New Jersey taxpayers showed that a number of folks would not mind a hike in the income tax --- as long as it trimmed the obscene property-tax burden. People were finally figuring out that Whitman robbed one basket for another, and they were compensating for her income-tax cuts with higher property taxes. Could this mean New Jersey understands Florio's actions? Well, let's just say the man is counting on a smart, reasonable electorate.

It is hard to say what might happen in November. The candidates are so busy attacking members of their own parties that handicapping the general election is a bit difficult. But one thing is certain: Though the presidential primaries were sewn up months ago, Jersey voters sure have a hot primary of their own in a few weeks.