Why a political newcomer wants to be your governor in 2017 (Listen)

There are a lot of big names preparing to run for governor in 2017, but one you probably haven't heard of is Titus Pierce.An unknown political newcomer, Pierce is a Democrat and an Iraq War veteran who wants to advance New Jersey's economy by linking it to global companies.

"I'm running to fix the credit, to fix the commercial exchange between the states, and to grow the local economy," Pierce said in an interview on air this morning. "New Jersey is a $677 billion economy. It's the 7th largest in the United States, and the 22nd largest in the world. And we have a unique opportunity here if we have a business man- a business centric leader- that would drive the economy forward."

According to him, the Garden State only does business with about five worldwide corporations, but growing this number could help our state financially. Pierce believes he is the businessman to accomplish this.

When I asked Pierce why he feels his third-party campaign has a chance on a ballot dominated by Democratic and Republican candidates, he gave a hopeful answer.

"When you sit down and you see 6% to Fullop, 3% to Murphy, and only 14% to Sweeney, and then you see the unknown at 26 and 57 and 74, those are all percentages of opportunity. And that's where I say, if they're saying 'the unknown or another candidate,' I'm the only other candidate out there. I'm in every single other town, so that's means it's me. So although I may not have the publicity and the cash flow on hand today, it means I'm definitely formidable in every single county. And I'm going to continue to run like that."

The next gubernatorial election will be here before you know it, and we'll continue to keep you posted on the major and minor political players in the meantime.

Can Pierce capitalize on undecided voters? Let me know what you think of Pierce by tweeting at @nj1015 and @BillSpadea.