Whitman Battles for 2nd Term as Governor of N.J.

New Jersey Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a role model for her party’s moderate wing, battled for a second term Tuesday against a surprisingly strong Democratic challenger in the marquee race of 1997’s state and local elections.

In the day’s other major races, early returns indicated a GOP victory for the Virginia governorship and, most emphatically, for the mayoralty of New York City, where Republican Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, seeking a second term, appeared to have transformed the longtime Democratic citadel into his personal fiefdom.

Also up for grabs is a vacant House seat in Staten Island, N.Y. Campaign polls had indicated the Republicans would hold the seat.

In New Jersey, Whitman was being challenged by Democrat James McGreevey and Libertarian Murray Sabrin. Late polls had shown the race too close to call, and early returns indicated that would be the case.

In Virginia, Republican James Gilmore, the state’s former attorney general, was winning easily over Democrat Don Beyer.

In New York City, Giuliani also took a strong early lead over Democrat Ruth Messinger. Within minutes after voting booths closed at 9 p.m. EST in New York, network exit polls projected Giuliani would win handily.

In New York’s 13th Congressional District, Republican Vito Fossella and Democrat Eric Vitaliano were vying for the Staten Island congressional seat that Republican Susan Molinari gave up to host a television show.

As Democrats have been quick to complain, the Republican National Committee came to the aid of its candidates in a huge way, shelling out millions of dollars to pay for the type of “issue advocacy” ads that are key to the controversy over fund-raising in the 1996 presidential campaign. The debt that the Democratic National Committee has incurred dealing with legal inquiries into its ’96 fund-raising left it unable to respond to the GOP ad barrage this fall.

President Clinton made a last-minute effort to counter the Republican campaign, stumping the last few days in New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

Whatever benefit the GOP ad campaign may have brought to its candidates, it appeared unlikely that Tuesday’s elections would ultimately send a dramatic message. Indeed, they were expected to offer little evidence that, from a national perspective, either Republicans or Democrats are poised to break the partisan deadlock and lay claim to a new electoral majority.

Rather, the most closely watched race of the day--the New Jersey gubernatorial contest--demonstrated a troublesome divisiveness in GOP ranks. Whitman’s gender and personality stirred interest in her as a possibility for the GOP presidential ticket in 2000, especially among those worried about the party’s inability to attract more support from women. But her strong support of abortion rights aroused the wrath of staunch conservatives. Sabrin, the Libertarian candidate, was expected to win some of these votes, benefiting Democrat McGreevey.

Some conservative leaders candidly said that their goal was to undercut Whitman’s potential at the national level, even if that meant a Democratic victory in the state.

Also disquieting to Republicans--who place such great stock on the voter appeal of tax cuts--is that Whitman’s 30% cut in state income tax rates did not prevent McGreevey from mounting a formidable challenge.

To be sure, the GOP tax-cutting brigade took satisfaction from the way the Virginia race evolved. Gilmore made his plan to cut Virginia’s annual tax on vehicles the dominant issue in his campaign against Democratic Lt. Gov. Don Beyer for the open governor’s seat. Preelection polls indicated that the tax-cut plan was the key to Gilmore’s lead.

Meanwhile, GOP hopes for a revival in the nation’s cities could be bolstered by Giuliani’s anticipated big victory over Messinger, the Manhattan borough president. A Giuliani win in the nation’s largest city would come on top of last spring’s landslide reelection of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican, in the second largest city in the U.S.

But it was far from clear that Giuliani’s notable success could be translated into a victory formula for Republicans in other urban areas. While Giuliani benefited from a dramatic reduction in crime during his first term, analysts pointed out that the crime rate has been declining in most of the nation’s other cities, where Democrats generally are in control.

Moreover, while Giuliani has trimmed the city payroll and the rate of growth in city spending, unemployment in New York remains twice the national average and many analysts believe that the fundamental condition of the municipal budget remains ominous.

Giuliani himself has not scotched speculation that he yearns for a job in the U.S. Senate as a sequel to his stint in City Hall. But statewide, he would still need to win back some of the Republicans he alienated in 1994 when he endorsed Democrat Gov. Mario M. Cuomo’s failed reelection bid.

Before the election, polls predicted Giuliani would be a double-digit winner.

As for Democrats, aside from McGreevey’s strong campaign against Whitman, it appeared that they would have little to cheer about in Tuesday’s elections.

Times staff writer John Goldman contributed to this story from New York.