Doug Forrester can't catch a break. His attempt to position himself as a crusading Trenton outsider looking to reform the system has been thwarted at every turn. First, it turned out that his fortune came largely from no-bid contracts that would be banned by the very anti-pay-to-play laws he claims to champion. And now it's revealed that as a majority owner of an insurance company, Forrester may not be able to legally contribute to any political campaigns in New Jersey, much less his own.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has the story:

The law bars insurance companies and other state-regulated industries doing business in New Jersey - and individuals with majority ownership in the companies - from contributing to candidates or political organizations in the state.

Forrester holds a 51 percent ownership interest in an insurance company that sells most of its policies to governmental clients in New Jersey.
. . .
Forrester's company, Heartland Fidelity Insurance Co., was established by him in 2003 to sell health-benefits insurance. Heartland is managed by a second Forrester company - the New Jersey-based BeneCard Services Inc. - which brokers and administers the Heartland contracts. Forrester said he has made more than $50 million from his business, and he is financing his campaign for governor almost exclusively with his own money.

Since forming Heartland, Forrester has spent $11 million to win the GOP gubernatorial nomination and has said he will also personally finance his fall campaign against Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon S. Corzine.

In addition, Forrester has contributed several hundred thousand dollars to various GOP candidates and committees in the state since forming his insurance company.

Forrester is fast and furiously making excuses for his apparent flouting of state campaign law, claiming that Heartland is not regulated by New Jersey law since it's licensed in Washington, D.C. However, the article points out that it's not a matter of insurance regulation, but election law. Since Heartland does business in New Jersey, they're covered. And as majority owner of the insurance company, Doug Forrester is not allowed to contribute to any political campaigns in the state -- including his own.

In another state, this may not be such a big deal. Forrester could return the money he contributed to his own campaign and work to raise private donations from other people. However, one of the main reasons the state GOP primary voters nominated Forrester is that, as a multi-millionaire, he could largely self-finance his own campaign. Campaigning in New Jersey is notoriously expensive as the state has no real broadcast media of its own to speak of, instead relying on the gargantuan New York and Philadelphia markets. Therefore, television and radio advertising budgets eat up a huge chunk of campaign cash.

The Forrester campaign is in quite a bind here, as the more they try to spin their way out of this, the more they undercut their candidate's image as a good-government conservative. It's awfully hard to claim the reform mantle when you're a millionaire who's gotten rich off of government contracts and then illegally use those millions to self-finance a run for governor. Even by New Jersey standards, that's pretty sleazy.