It can backfire in a state that tends to be liberal, but some find it effective at reaching key groups. Philadelphia Inquirer
By Cynthia Burton
On a rainy Sunday afternoon, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler made his way to the Praise Dome, a tent erected behind the Columbus Baptist Church in rural Mansfield Township, Burlington County, to talk to 100 people - the bedrock of a voter base he sorely needs to win the primary.
He is not the only gubernatorial candidate pitching religious groups, even though political experts argue that New Jersey voters aren't terribly moved by religious appeals. And analysts warn that playing the God card is a tricky prospect.
Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano (R., Bergen) sent voters a mailing that included a photo of him in his red confirmation gown.
Morris County Freeholder John Murphy doesn't shy away from mentioning his roots in the Assumption Roman Catholic parish in Morristown, N.J.
Republican primary voters may have noticed in candidate Douglas Forrester's literature that he graduated from the Princeton Theological Seminary. He worked briefly as an interim minister at Princeton Baptist Church. But he doesn't talk about his spiritual life unless asked.
And Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan held a rally in Maplewood, N.J., during the Christmas season protesting the Board of Education's ban on religious songs during its winter festival.
The Democrats' presumptive candidate, U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, has pumped millions of dollars into the historically vote-rich black churches in urban New Jersey as well as Catholic and Jewish charities. Working black congregations in Hudson and Essex Counties helped boost a forceful turnout for him during the 2000 Democratic Senate primary, in which he hammered former Gov. Jim Florio, who was better known, by 58 percent to 42 percent.
Corzine supports a variety of religious institutions, spokeswoman Ivette Mendez said, and will campaign at them because he "believes deeply that religion plays a vital role in society."
In diverse, moderate-to-liberal New Jersey, which easily authorized stem-cell research and granted benefits for gay and lesbian couples, "using religion in staking out a policy position has a very, very limited appeal," said Patrick Murray, director of the Bloustein Center for Survey Research at Rutgers University.
But he is seeing more of it here.
"What's happening with candidates using religion is they're trying to show they have a strong internal value system, and that plays more to issues of corruption and pay-to-play," Murray said. "So with religion, there is a way to identify yourself as above the fray."
Fairleigh Dickinson University's Public Mind Poll looked at New Jersey voters in the 2004 presidential race and their religion. Director Peter Woolley learned that playing to religion cuts both ways.
Among Republican respondents, 73 percent said it was appropriate for a candidate to express religious words and values, while 57 percent of the Democrats said it was inappropriate.
"Does it move votes? I think it moves them in both directions," Woolley said. "A number of voters out there, once they hear an explicit appeal to religious values, they will move away from a candidate, and others require it to come from a candidate."
For Schundler, talking about abortion, school vouchers, his support for gun rights, and his religious beliefs to evangelicals is pitching the base of conservative Republicans who line up with him on those issues. More than the other candidates, Schundler is using religious appeals to work that base.
Attendees on their way to the Praise Dome appearance were greeted by 2003 state Senate candidate Carole Lokan Moore, who handed out voter-registration forms and asked all to sign candidate-nominating petitions so Schundler could run with a slate against the party line. Schundler was not endorsed by Burlington County's party organization, but inside the Praise Dome, he found a crowd of about 100 likely voters.
"Is it part of the campaign strategy? Sure," said Bill Pascoe, Schundler's spokesman. "When you run a grassroots campaign, you take the biblical injunction: Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I will be there."
Schundler's chief rival, Forrester, said he did not push his religious background because he did not want to distract from his primary issues: corruption and the state's sagging finances. Forrester added that "much of what passes today as religion, particularly in the context of political discourse, is an attempt to make oneself look good at expense of making others look bad."
It also can clue a voter into a candidate's profile.
Like former Gov. Jim McGreevey's frequent campaign-trail references to his days as an altar boy, DiGaetano's confirmation picture is easily recognized by the 46 percent of New Jersey voters who describe themselves as Catholics, sending the message that he shares their background.
"We were trying to demonstrate that Paul has a lot in common with many families in New Jersey," including Catholics of other ethnic backgrounds, campaign manager Kevin Collins said. He carefully added that DiGaetano's religion "doesn't drive everything in his life, but he's a man of faith."
In Philadelphia, Democratic district attorney candidate Seth Williams is even more blunt. He has sent a flyer titled "A Catholic for District Attorney" around Catholic neighborhoods. Spokesman Dale Wilcox said the flyer pointed out Williams' common background and community service to potential voters.
Traditionally, Democrats have worked black churches to ring up huge margins in cities.
The Rev. Reginald Jackson, who heads the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, warned that June and November visits alone didn't cut it anymore.
"To just show up during the election season sends a message of being exploited," he said.
Exploitation or not, religious appeals are part of the campaign because to some degree they work, even in a state where they can backfire.
