NJ Gov. Christie campaigns for Ohio nominee

HARRISON, Ohio (AP) - New Jersey's governor says the Ohio governor race is heading into a campaign period when Democrats will try to scare voters away from the Republican ticket.

First-term Gov. Chris Christie called it "haunted house time" as he appeared Tuesday with GOP governor hopeful John Kasich in the western Cincinnati suburb of Harrison.

Christie unseated Democrat Jon Corzine last year, and Kasich is trying to defeat Ohio's Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Christie predicted that Strickland and Democrats will try to smear Kasich, a former congressman.

A Strickland campaign spokeswoman says, if Christie is Kasich's example for governing, Ohioans should expect a philosophy of helping political benefactors at the expense of the state's future.