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Bitter, narrow governors' races highlight Tuesday's election slate

In an off-year election, campaigns for governor in New Jersey and Virginia have turned especially nasty, dragging in Adolf Hitler and an ex-wife's claim of betrayal in negative ads that pollsters say have turned off the public.

And that's not all. A paralyzed teen in a wheelchair criticized one candidate's stem-cell research stance in New Jersey, records have been distorted in both states, and a $470,000 loan to a politically connected ex-lover sparked accusations of wrongdoing in New Jersey. Spending records were broken in both states, while polls show voters are unenthusiastic.

"It's awful," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "These two races are the worst possible combination - nasty and dull. It doesn't get any worse."

Still, those contests top the bill Tuesday, when mayors will be selected in New York, Detroit, Boston, Atlanta and several other cities. Ballot questions also go before voters in seven states, including several in California that are seen as a referendum on the sagging popularity of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the New Jersey governor's race, the latest polls show Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine with a slight lead over Republican Doug Forrester for an open seat.

In Virginia, Republican Jerry Kilgore, the former attorney general, is in a too-close-to-call race against Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine for an open seat.

Virginia's harshest ad criticized Kaine, a Roman Catholic, for his opposition to capital punishment. On radio and television, the father of a murder victim tells viewers: "Tim Kaine says Adolf Hitler doesn't qualify for the death penalty. This was one of the worst mass murderers in modern times."

Kaine, a former criminal defense attorney who had suggested to a panel of newspaper reporters that he wouldn't favor executing Hitler, Josef Stalin or Idi Amin, fired back with an ad pledging to carry out death sentences "because it's the law."

The death penalty, property taxes and immigration dominated debate in Virginia.

In New Jersey, each candidate flung accusations about ethical improprieties and tried to tar the other with links to political corruption.

Corzine accused Forrester, a Republican businessman, of being part of the state's "pay-to-play" culture of awarding no-bid government contracts to political donors. Forrester linked Corzine, a former Wall Street executive, to a convicted businessman and former Gov. Jim McGreevey, who resigned over an extramarital gay sex scandal.

Forrester also ran a TV ad quoting Corzine's ex-wife. She had told the New York Times: "All I could think was that Jon did let his family down, and he'll probably let New Jersey down, too." Joanne Corzine said her former husband's political ambitions destroyed their 33-year marriage.

Corzine's $470,000 loan to a former girlfriend, the head of a state employees' union, also drew headlines.

In other races around the country, California voters are being asked to cap state spending and give Schwarzenegger more power to cut budgets, rein in public employee unions, and take away legislators' power to redistrict. New York polls showed Republican Mayor Mike Bloomberg far ahead in his bid for a second term, while Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick appeared at risk of defeat. Other cities electing mayors include Atlanta, Boston, Houston and San Diego.

Many voters in New Jersey and Virginia have complained about the negative ads. One poll in New Jersey found that more than half the respondents said negative ads bothered them "very much."

Top political contests scheduled for Tuesday:

GOVERNORS NEW JERSEY: Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine and Republican businessman Doug Forrester both ran negative campaigns for a seat left open by acting Democratic Gov. Richard Codey. Spending totals broke records at $70-million.

VIRGINIA: An open seat spurred another nasty campaign here, with Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine and Republican Jerry Kilgore, a former attorney general, seeking to succeed popular Democratic Gov. Mark Warner. Spending records broken.

MAYORS ATLANTA: City's first female mayor, Shirley Franklin, expected to easily win a second term against two little-known challengers.

BOSTON: Three-term incumbent Thomas Menino faces longtime City Council member Maura Hennigan. If he wins and serves out a full term, Menino would become the longest-serving mayor in the city's history.

DETROIT: Polls showed Kwame Kilpatrick at risk of becoming the first Detroit mayor since 1961 to be defeated in a re-election bid. He is challenged by Freman Hendrix, a former deputy mayor under Kilpatrick's predecessor.

HOUSTON: Bill White is widely expected to be re-elected with as much as 90 percent of the vote.

NEW YORK: Incumbent Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg has consistently led in polls in his bid for a second term in a heavily Democratic city against former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.

SAN DIEGO: Donna Frye, a maverick Democratic City Council member and surf-shop owner who nearly won the job last year after a write-in bid, faces Republican Jerry Sanders, a former police chief with the solid backing of the city's business establishment.

[Last modified November 6, 2005, 02:15:12]