Will New Jersey voters choose the fat guy?

A brave reporter at the Newark Star-Ledger broaches a subject many journalists are loathe to address: fat candidates.

The overweight hopeful in this case is Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie who you’ll notice, if you’ve seen his campaign ads, is big.

It sounds dumb, but many political observers swear by the theory that too much weight is a political liability. It’s hard to test the issue, though, because it’s more of a subconscious thing.

You’ll recall that former Vice President Al Gore’s (D) trimmed-down figure had many buzzing that he might run for president again, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) dropped a ton of weight in advance of his presidential run.

Granted, Huckabee was elected governor of Arkansas when he was still really big. But he was clearly the exception, rather than the rule.