Interesting news, to say the least, though not entirely surprising as Corzine has indicated a desire to sit in the New Jersey statehouse for quite some time. Here's the scoop:

U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine has decided to seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005 and will announce his plans at a news conference next week, according to seven Democrats with direct knowledge of his intentions.

At the news conference, expected to be held in northern New Jersey on Wednesday or Thursday, Corzine, D-Hoboken, will announce that he is planning to run for governor and will form an exploratory committee. Corzine, New Jersey's senior senator, will then embark on a series of meetings with Democratic leaders to set up a fund-raising organization to lay the groundwork for a formal campaign kickoff early next year.

Corzine, one adviser said, was ready to announce his candidacy last week, but waited out of deference to Richard Codey, the state Senate president who became acting governor on Nov. 16.

Corzine spent Thanksgiving with his mother in Chicago yesterday and was unavailable for comment. His spokesman, David Wald, said he could not confirm Corzine's plans.

Corzine will be the first Democrat to announce his candidacy for the job vacated by James E. McGreevey, who resigned because of a gay sex scandal.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that Corzine has high voter approval ratings and holds an early advantage of at least 20 percentage points in head-to-head match-ups with several potential Republican candidates. The poll also said he held a 40-point lead over Codey in a potential Democratic primary match-up.

Link.

If he ends up winning, I really hope he doesn't appoint his child a la Frank Murkowski in Alaska...