It's an interesting time in New Jersey politics. Some Democrats are upset that Newark Mayor Cory Booker has indicated interest in running in 2014 for Sen. Frank Lautenberg's Senate seat (presumably whether Lautenberg's still in it or not). That means Booker won't be running this year against Gov. Chris Christie, who is enjoying high popularity as well as strong fundraising for reelection without even holding any fundraisers. And there's the question whether Christie will run for president in 2016.
I've been a Republican since I first registered to vote, and that was a different era. Increasingly, I've been at odds with my party in recent years. (Interestingly, Christie too has been somewhat at odds with the party lately, though how serious those tensions are is hard to gauge.) Then again, I have plenty of issues with the Democrats, too, though I am inclined to see differences among the Democrats, unlike more committed partisans who seem to see the opposite party as a more or less undifferentiated mass.
In New Jersey, an independent (or in the jargon "unaffiliated") voter can declare himself a Democrat or Republican on primary day, as long as he has been unaffiliated for at least 55 days before the primary. So you can be an independent without even giving up the ability to vote in a primary. Something to think about.
