Christie Whitman for the People

Christine Todd Whitman came from nowhere in 1993 to defeat Democrat Jim Florio and become the first woman governor of New Jersey. Her meteoric rise to power has left many people wondering who she is, where she came from, and what motivates her. This engrossing political biography traces her background of old money tempered with social conscience and details its impact on her difficult but successful journey to the New Jersey governor's mansion...and perhaps beyond. Though an aristocrat from a moderate Republican family, Christie Whitman waged a grass-roots campaign to cut the heavy burden of New Jersey's taxes. At first, a skeptical public, reacting negatively to her plan, sent her public-opinion rating so low that even her own supporters felt she had lost the race for the governorship. But in the final, dramatic days of the campaign for the statehouse, Whitman proved to be the campaign's strongest asset. Undaunted by the polls, she donned a pair of blue jeans and took her campaign directly to New Jersey voters in farmers' markets, shopping centers, and businesses. She convinced people of her sincerity, dispelled the "out-to-lunch" image Democrats had painted of her, and fought on to capture one of the most powerful governorships in the nation. Taking office in January 1994, she surprised everyone by making good on her promise to cut income taxes for most New Jersey residents by 30 percent. As a result, she stands as a major player in national Republican politics with pundits speculating on her role in upcoming presidential elections. A voice of caution to the conservative wing of the party, she has shied away from dramatic cuts in government and takes a moderate position on socialissues. Author Sandy McClure traces Whitman's roots back to the days when she was a young tomboy plotting pranks at her parents' rural estate in northwestern New Jersey. She provides an inside look at Whitman's family heritage: the impact of her politically active grandparents, her role as the daughter of Republican party movers and shakers, her early years at the Republican National Committee, her marriage to the grandson of a New York governor, and her devotion to her role as a mother. The story includes the controversies of Whitman's early years in local and state politics and tells how her near defeat of U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, the state's most popular politician, launched her bid for the statehouse.