Corzine thought he had a bigger lead

With nine months to go before the New Jersey gubernatorial election, new polling suggests Gov. Jon Corzine may be toppled by a darkhorse candidate - one of his sweater vests.

In the Quinnipiac University poll, conducted in early February, 54 percent of likely voters said they planned to cast their ballot for Corzine’s favorite navy blue sweater vest while 49 percent said they were leaning toward Corzine. The remaining 7 percent of those polled were evenly split between the guy who smokes pot and whichever candidate offered the best “tribute” payment.

The results surprised poll director Don Schwartzman because Corzine’s sweater has not officially declared its candidacy, let alone established an exploratory committee or approached the wealthy cashmere and cardigan fundraising circles in Bergen and Morris counties.

“Corzine may be the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, but he’s going to need more than a head for numbers to beat this garment,” Schwartzman said. “It’s 100 percent Merino wool for God’s sake.”

Sources inside the Corzine campaign said his team was caught off guard by the navy sweater vest’s showing and that top aides had been focusing on Corzine’s slate gray sweater vest, which internal polls showed was gaining popularity and his most likely challenger. Publicly, Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy attacked the navy sweater vest as too lightweight to take on the governorship and said it could only help New Jersey for two, maybe three, of the four seasons.

But some residents who participated in the Quinnipiac poll said they were ready to give Corzine’s sweater vest a chance.

“We want a governor in this state who’s versatile and can adapt to a changing environment,” New Brunswick resident Tony Matolo said. “That means being able to go with a button down dress shirt one day, a sports coat and slacks another, and jeans and a T-shirt if the situation calls for it. I think Corzine’s sweater vest brings all that to the table and more.”

Asked about his solid showing in the poll, Ed “The Weedman” Forchion said, “Um, what was the question?”