After seriously pondering an independent bid for president, CNN's bombastic immigration hardliner and defender of the middle class Lou Dobbs has set his sights slightly lower and is considering a run for New Jersey Governor as a Republican, well-connected sources tell the Newark Star-Ledger. Dobbs, a Garden State resident, would neither confirm nor deny the plans.

The rumors are running around GOP fundraising circles from New York to Washington, state Republican Party chairman Tom Wilson told the Star-Ledger. Not everyone is thrilled with the idea, though. National Committee member David Norcross told the paper Dobbs should keep his day job: "He ought to just stick to raising hell on issues on his TV show and leave New Jersey alone."

New Jersey, one of just two states that holds its gubernatorial elections the year after a presidential contest, has not elected a Republican governor since 1997, when Christie Todd Whitman won a second term. In 2005, Jon Corzine spent millions of his own dollars to win a 53%-43% victory; the former chairman of Goldman Sachs had put somewhere north of $100 million on successful runs for the Senate and governor's office this decade.

Dobbs, who laments the disappearance of the American middle class dressed in three-piece suits and lunches on $56 Dover sole, hosts a radio show alongside his television gig, and he could have a serious shot at taking the seat. Opinion polls have consistently shown Corzine's approval rating in the dumps, while his disapproval rating soars.

Still, Corzine has started raising money for his 2009 re-election bid, and given his history of personal contributions, Dobbs -- or any Republican -- will have to prepare their own major cash onslaught. In 2005, Corzine's Republican opponent, businessman Doug Forrester, spent $10 million of his own money on the race.