Source:
AP By BETH FOUHY and BOB LEWIS, Associated Press Writers Beth Fouhy And Bob Lewis, Associated Press Writers – 45 mins ago
NEW YORK – Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor was driven in part by her wish to help Republican candidates across the country, associates say.
But in New Jersey and Virginia, two states with competitive governors' races this year, the prospect of a visit from the party's 2008 vice presidential nominee has so far drawn a muted response from the GOP contenders there.
In Virginia, a historically conservative state where Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 to win, Republican Bob McDonnell said Tuesday his campaign had had conversations with the Palin camp but stopped short of saying whether he wanted her help.
In New Jersey, where President Barack Obama trounced the McCain-Palin ticket by 15 percentage points last November, state Republican Chairman Jay Webber said he'd had no contact with Palin or her team about a campaign visit on behalf of GOP candidate Chris Christie.
Read more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090708/ap_on_el_gu/us_palin_governors;_ylt=Aq6sNgSWvaSCYutKmtAyi75vzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTJqb3NzMmczBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwNzA4L3VzX3BhbGluX2dvdmVybm9ycwRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDZ29wY2FuZGlkYXRl
"Her positions are certainly consistent with where Christie's been," Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy said. "They would both deny a woman the right to choose and they oppose new gun control legislation. And like Palin, Christie's staked out conservative right-wing positions on rejecting the federal stimulus money, which would create thousands of jobs."
In Virginia, Jared Leopold, a spokesman for Deeds, said, "If what Bob McDonnell wants to do is to bring in Sarah Palin and advocate for the same Republican policies that would take Virginia backward, I think Virginians would say, 'Thanks, but no thanks.'"