House

Fourth District residents are getting calls from Hillary Clinton.

Clinton recorded a robocall for Democrat Josh Zeitz, who’s challenging U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) – the longest-serving incumbent in the state.

“Hi, this is Senator Hillary Clinton calling to ask you to vote for Josh Zeitz for Congress on Tuesday, November 4^th,” she says in the call. “Josh Zeitz knows that your priorities are to repair this broken economy and ensure that all Americans receive quality, affordable health care, and these will be his priorities in Congress.”

Attention commuters: make sure there’s room in your pockets for plenty of campaign literature, because the Hoboken train station is going to be a hotbed of political activity on this election eve.

As previously reported, Senate President Dick Codey will be at the station during the evening rush to campaign for 5th District Democratic congressional candidate Dennis Shulman.  Now U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) has decided to join up as well.

And while the three Democrats press their case, Shulman’s rival, U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) is also scheduled to be at Hoboken Terminal tonight to campaign for reelection. 

Linda Stender today in Somerset County

MARTINSVILLE - Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) said the fact that her 7th Congressional District opponent accepted an endorsement from President George W. Bush, $5,00 from Exxon/Mobil, and advertising capital from the Bush-backing Freedom’s Watch, make it hard to classify state Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon) as a moderate.

“It all adds up to someone who will continue Bush’s policies,” said Stender at a buck-up-the-troops stop here at Somerset County Democratic Party headquarters on Sunday afternoon.

She also objected to Lance’s tagline that he’s a fiscal conservative, citing his support for Gov. Christie Todd Whitman.

Phil Clinton, a.k.a. Phil Morin, endorses Lance

KENILWORTH -- Talk about a study in contrast.

Yesterday, Democrats attracted about 1,500 people to Union County College in Cranford to hear former President Bill Clinton stump for Assemblywoman Linda Stender’s (D-Fanwood) congressional bid.

Tonight, despite pitchers of free beer, the Union County Republicans attracted about 100 people to Kenilworth’s VFW hall to support Stender’s rival, state Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington), and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dick Zimmer.

Yesterday, Clinton was Stender’s main draw. Tonight, Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin donned a mask of Clinton, called himself “Phil Clinton” and endorsed Lance.

“If anybody wants to join me, I’ll be at the Hooters on Route 22,” he said.

Leonard Lance and Dick Zimmer in Kenilworth

KENILWORTH – Yesterday, Democratic State Chairman Joe Cryan challenged a room full of Linda Stender supporters to name a legislative accomplishment by Leonard Lance, and called the state Senator “as partisan as they come. Independent my ass!”

Responding to Cryan before his own, more low key rally tonight, Lance named a recent legislative accomplishment he said was also bipartisan: putting the “Lance Amendment” on Tuesday’s ballot.

“It couldn’t have gotten through the legislature without Democratic support,” he said. “It has been endorsed by Governor Corzine, and it’s one of my proudest accomplishments in the legislature. Number one it’s an accomplishment, and number two it’s a bipartisan accomplishment.”

Somerset County GOP Chairman Dale Florio

SOMERSET – Field general Dale Florio goes over the numbers again in Somerset County Republican Party headquarters.  He doesn’t appear overly confident but he believes his party can comfortably fend off the other side, which is making a big play here in a presidential year when their national ticket has a double digit lead in New Jersey.

In the next room, three volunteers work the phones as pedestrians blow in from Main Street and pick up handfuls of “McCain-Palin” lawn signs.

“I’ve been pleased with the energy level – that energy surge close to Election Day,” says Florio, Republican Party county chair, looking up from his desk. “You’d have figured with the war, the economy and the last eight years that we’d have less excitement, but McCain is his own man. Quite frankly, with the Obama campaign’s focus elsewhere, it’s taken the Democrats’ focus away from New Jersey.”

Much has been made of State Sen. Diane Allen’s (R-Burlington) lack of involvement in the tight 3rd Congressional race, where Republican Medford Mayor Chris Myers is running against State Sen. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill).

But while Allen is much more committed to State Sen. Leonard Lance’s (R-Flemington) Congressional race, which is far outside of her district, she said today that she’s still voting for Myers, and even personally donated $250 to him within the last week or two.

“I have sat down with [Myers] and any time he asked me any questions on strategy and along those lines I gave him my best bit of information,” she said.

Senate President Dick Codey (D-Essex)

The campaign of 5th District Congressional candidate Dennis Shulman is bringing in state Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) to campaign on Monday during evening rush hour in Hoboken.

Codey and Shulman will work the platforms of those trains bound for 5th District destinations, according to Shulman spokesman Jeffrey Hauser.

"NJ-5 lacks a lot of the prototypical retail opportunities, that's why we're big on football games, soccer tourneys and Halloween parades," Hauser said.

Shulman is running against U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage).

JERSEY CITY – Although the pro-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) crowd in the student center of New Jersey City University was juked with polls showing their candidate in possession of a double digit lead in Jersey, they supplied no demonstration of shock and awe support three days before Election Day.

Waiting for keynoters New York Gov. David Paterson and Gov. Jon Corzine, local politicians warmed up the proudly attentive audience.

“If you don’t stand for this man (Obama), you don’t stand for anything,” state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson) cried. “Get up. Get up!”

The crowd jolted to its feet.

JERSEY CITY – He stood with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) before anyone else in the New Jersey Congressional delegation, and for that a crowd of Obama backers gave him his props here today when U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fairlawn) climbed onto the stage.

“Not only will an Obama presidency change the world,” Rothman argued. “It will change the way Americans see each other.”

The congressman soaked up the cheers.

He won’t be here with his fellow New Jerseyans come Tuesday night.