ST. PAUL, Minn.-- Two former Republican governors who know what it's like to ask New Jersey voters for a second term said Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine will have a tough time getting re-elected next year.

"The Republicans are going to have a very good case to present to the people that things could be better in the state," said Christie Whitman. "We are going to be in a very competitive position."

"He was elected because people thought he was a financial expert from Wall Street and they didn't like the finances of the state," said Tom Kean. "It's worse now."

In separate interviews this week at the Republican National Convention, Kean and Whitman broke the tradition that generally stops ex-governors from discussing the current occupant of the Statehouse.

"Incomplete" is the grade Kean gives the administration of the Wall Street CEO-turned-politician.

Corzine has said he plans to announce his re-election early next year. He will spend the next two months volunteering part of his time to aid Barack Obama's presidential bid.

In Denver for the Democratic National Convention last week, Corzine said his low voter approval ratings are starting to turn around and he hopes an Obama win could lift all Democratic candidates next year.

Responding to the comments from Whitman and Kean, Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy said the Democrat "has taken unprecedented steps to put New Jersey back on the right fiscal track after years of financial mismanagement by both Democrats and Republicans. The governor intends to continue forward . . . "

Whitman and Kean both won their re-election bids, but Kean did it with greater ease.

Elected in the closest gubernatorial race in New Jersey history in 1981, the popular Kean won his second campaign in the state's biggest landslide. Whitman, who won the job by narrowly defeating incumbent Democratic Gov. Jim Florio in 1993, barely survived a challenge from Jim McGreevey, then the upstart mayor of Woodbridge.

The New Jersey governor is constitutionally limited to two consecutive terms.

Kean -- whose son Tom Kean Jr. is state Senate minority leader -- said Corzine has not been able to master dealing with the Legislature.

"He's had probably too many Democrats in the Legislature," Kean said. "It's actually easier to work as a governor with a more closely divided Legislature or even a Legislature of the other party that I had. We worked well together. He could have worked with the Republicans a lot, if he wanted to. He hasn't wanted to."

Six months into his term, Corzine shut down state government for the first time after he and lawmakers failed to break an impasse over the budget. The following year, his entire program was put on hold after he was nearly killed in a Parkway traffic accident.

In recent months, the governor watched as his much-anticipated plan to pay down state debt with higher road tolls collapsed under the weight of public reaction. Turnpike authorities yesterday presented him with a new plan that would begin to raise tolls in 2009 -- Corzine's re-election year.

Whitman declined to disclose where she thinks Corzine has stumbled, saying she will be more willing to discuss that after the campaign begins.

After her near-loss to McGreevey, Whitman said, New Jersey has been becoming a more Democratic state. No Republican has won a statewide race since. Kean, however, said Republicans have a good chance to break that streak, even though Corzine can pour millions from his personal wealth into the race.

"Democrats think if he spends a lot of money, he can change" his popularity ratings, Kean said. "But negatives are harder to change than the positives. It's very hard. If his negatives stay where they are, and the Republicans nominate somebody who's credible, I think, the Republicans have an excellent chance to recapture the Statehouse."

Republicans are already lining up. Assemblyman Rick Merkt (R-Morris) and former Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan have expressed an interest, and businessman John Crowley is said to be considering a run. Party leaders believe U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie would have the best chance to beat Corzine. He is expected to announce his intentions after Election Day.

New York-based Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf disagreed with the former governors' assessments, saying that "voters don't hate this guy."

"You don't discount $70 million or $80 million out of somebody's wallet," he said. "Second, you don't beat nobody with nothing, and the Republicans right now have nothing. Could it be more difficult this time for Corzine? Sure, it's possible."