DENVER On paper, there's nowhere for an aspiring Democrat to go in New Jersey.

Delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver swear they are united behind U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg's reelection in November and another term for Governor Corzine next year.

But things change fast. At the party convention four years ago in Boston, the same unity was expressed for Gov. Jim McGreevey's reelection. A month later, he was history.

So the ambitious are circling in Denver, keeping their eyes, and their options, open. They're hosting parties, shaking hands, going out to lunch, playing golf.

And there are two scenarios they are watching on the horizon.

Scenario No. 1 is that Corzine never runs next year because President Obama (who has already been elected, didn't you hear?) asks him to join his Cabinet.

Scenario No. 2, which isn't even whispered even though everyone thinks about it, is that the 84-year-old Lautenberg cannot finish his term because his age catches up with him.

"No one's challenging Frank Lautenberg, but they're all checking his blood pressure when they shake his hand," one party insider said.

Corzine says he's not looking for a job in Washington, loves New Jersey, etc. And everyone says they'd love to see him stay. But Corzine's mentor at Goldman Sachs was treasury secretary in the Clinton administration and his successor as chairman of the investment giant has that job now.

Corzine is also part of a group Obama convened to provide economic advice, so it's hard to imagine if his president asked him, Corzine would say no.

As a result, there are a handful of guys at the Inverness Hotel who look in the mirror and think they see the next governor.

"If he [Corzine] doesn't run, and he takes himself out of it, for whatever reason he wants to take a trip to another planet, whatever he wants to do then I would consider that position," said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson. "I think I'm qualified to make the run."

Pascrell's been a mayor, a legislator, and now he's a congressman on the Ways and Means Committee. He loves debating, and doesn't shy from a fight. But he's also 71 years old, and to win a race for governor, a lot would have to happen.

The first question is whether state Senate President Dick Codey, D-Essex, decides to run. If Corzine quits, Codey becomes governor again, just as he did when McGreevey quit in 2004, so he would be running in 2009 as an incumbent.

"Don't assume I'm running," Codey said when asked. But he also said not to assume he wouldn't run, caginess reminiscent of the 2005 race that he ultimately decided not to enter.