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TRENTON When is a Republican not a Republican?

When Gov. Chris Christie put up his two doomed state Supreme Court nominees Mayor Bruce Harris of Chatham Borough and First Assistant Attorney General Phillip Kwon he insisted Kwon was an unaffiliated voter.

Although Kwon had been a Republican in New York for more than a decade, after moving to New Jersey he subsequently registered as an independent last spring.

In the end, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected Kwon in March after questions arose about his familys business dealings.

Then at a news conference on Thursday in which Christie lambasted Democrats for turning away Harris, he first referred to Kwon as an independent. But in subsequent references, the governor called him a Republican.

"Before I made the nominations, diversity was all they talked about," Christie said at one point. "Then once I reached the bar of diversity, then they had to change the rules. Because Uh oh, he found two Republicans that are diverse? We didnt think hed be able to do that. So alright now weve got to change the rules."

Less than two minutes later, he did it again. "I think what happened here is they never thought I would come forward with two diverse candidates who happened to be Republicans," he said. "And once I ruined their plans, they had to come up with reasons to knock these guys off."

And toward the end of the news conference, when referring to Democrats delays in holding the hearings, Christie said: "They went, Oh no, he actually found two candidates with diversity who were Republicans. Now what are we going to do? "

A spokesman for the Republican governor dismissed the turns of phrase as a nettlesome press corps itching for a story. Yet it is at the heart of the debate between Christie and Democrats in the Legislature. They claim the governor is trying to tilt the partisan balance of the court more than his predecessors.

If two Republicans were to join the seven-member court, there would be four Republicans, two Democrats and one independent, Jaynee LaVecchia.

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What's in a name? Gov. Christie word choice draws attention from Democratic lawmakers