9 Quotes by Rick Thigpen

Paul is a candidate with a lot of talent, enormous potential, and if he runs a good campaign, he may win. If he runs a good race and doesn't win, he will be a more prominent commodity for the future.

Booker enters the statewide political stage in pretty good shape. His strong crossover appeal to white voters makes him an African-American politician with a chance to break the political glass ceiling.

After 20 controversial years as mayor of the state's largest city, Sharpe James leaves office unknown to a third of the state's electorate and unacceptable to another third.

They have an enormous challenge, faced by every Democratic candidate, of mobilizing voters in urban and suburban communities, mobilizing women and people of color. Our base is more complex than the Republican base, and Jon has to be out there. I think they were late, but they are beginning to tackle the challenge.

At a time when the governor will be promoting austerity, it would be inappropriate for him politically to, at the same time, spend a lot of money.

It might have been better to have happened sooner, but it's happening now and it will benefit the overall Democratic effort, Thigpen said.

In many ways Booker is the opposite of James. He's a new, professional breed of urban manager.

He's trying to tell the people who he is. He wants to instill confidence in the coming administration, he wants to identify with the people and their concerns, and he's trying to set a tone for the way he will govern and how he will address problems.

If he can foresee paying the gift tax on that money, he can certainly foresee the need to have nothing but an arm's length relationship with her union as governor.