Codey's out in New Jersey

After reading the positive poll numbers over at MyDD, I was a bit surprised to see acting Governor Richard Codey has announced he will not run for the full time office. Unsurprisingly, it's a matter of money:

Acting Gov. Richard Codey will not run for a full term in office, he told close political allies last night, ceding the Democratic nomination to U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine.

After wrestling with the decision for several weeks, Codey broke the news to his family Friday night and followed with a telephone call to Corzine. Last night, he made a round of calls to other top Democrats.

"He would have to raise $10 million to be competitive, and still get outspent 4-to-1. To be able to do that, and be all of the other things -- the acting governor, the Senate president, a father and his son's basketball coach -- he didn't know how he could possibly do it," one source close to Codey said.

Codey remained conflicted until the end, only more so because an independent survey released last week showed his popularity had skyrocketed since he replaced Gov. James E. McGreevey, who resigned in scandal Nov. 15.

Corzine is expected to win fairly easily come election time.