The top Democrat in the New Jersey Senate says it’s important for his party to agree soon on a consensus candidate to oppose Governor Christie in the November election.

Senate President Steve Sweeney says Democrats know it won’t be easy to defeat Christie.

 “It’s going to be a tough race. It’s always a tough race when you face an incumbent. So we want to make sure that we put the best candidate forward. I’m one of the people that we’re looking at. Other county leaders are calling. So we’ll figure that out shortly, but it has to be figured out very shortly.”

Senator Barbara Buono is the only declared Democrat in the race so far.

Sweeney says whoever the party selects as its candidate will be competitive financially.

 “I think the governor will have a financial edge. He’s already started. When he was going around the country he was raising funds. He took advantage of his position to raise funds for his campaign. So I expect him to have a lot of money, but I also expect that the Democratic candidate will be in a very good position also.”

Sweeney says a 700-thousand voter registration edge for the Democrats will also help their candidate.