BOB MENENDEZ

JERSEY CITY – In spite of McCain campaign robocalls hyping a William Ayres domestic terrorism connection, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) predicted that his colleague, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.), will secure Florida’s 27 electoral votes on Election Day.

At Obama’s request, Menendez spent Thursday and Friday campaigning in the Sunshine State, reaching out to Cuban Americans in the Miami-Dade area.

“As I campaigned I encountered people who would privately show me an Obama sticker in the palms of their hands and tell me they intend to vote for Obama, but can’t say it out loud because of peer pressure,” Menendez told PolitickerNJ.com as he stumped today for Obama in Jersey City.

Barack Obama and John McCain are tied 47%-47% in northwestern New Jersey, according to the new Quinnipiac University poll that looked at voters in Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties. In an October 19, 2004 Quinnipiac poll, George W. Bush led John Kerry in this same region by a 61%-28% margin. And in an October 12, 2006 Quinnipiac poll of the race for United States Senator, northwestern New Jersey voters favored Tom Kean, Jr. over Bob Menendez by a 66%-32% margin.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg and former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, the Republican, are in a statistical dead heat in these five Republican counties, with Lautenberg leading 47%-45.

Rumors that U.S. Senator Robert Menendez will endorse Dr. Alex Blanco for Mayor of Passaic are not true, according to sources close to the Menendez camp.  Menendez met privately with Blanco about two months ago, but has decided to stay out of the race and will not endorse anyone.

At the request of the Obama campaign, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez will be in Nashville tomorrow to do press in the spin room before and after the Presidential debate.

Yet another poll shows John McCain closing in on Barack Obama in The Garden State.

A Strategic Vision poll of 800 likely voters released today shows the Barack Obama/Joe Biden presidential ticket leading John McCain/Sarah Palin by a margin of 47%-43%.  

Today's poll comes on top of several recent polls that show McCain closing in on Obama, though September polls historically show Republicans closer in New Jersey.

New Jersey voters are beginning to like U.S. Senator Robert Menendez a bit more: a new Quinnipiac University poll has the junior Senator's approvals at 35%-31% -- an improvement from his upside-down 33%-34% last month.  Menendez is not up for re-election until 2012.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had a private meeting in Newark on Friday, just before Obama headed to Middletown for a fundraiser at Jon Bon Jovi's home.  Menendez and Obama bet to discuss GOTV strategies for New Jersey and other key Latino communities across the U.S.  New Jersey's Senator is also considered an influential national Latino leader, who has demonstrated abilities to motivate Latino voters in states like Florida, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez might not have received a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, but apparently he’s still poised to enhance his clout in the Senate over the next few years. As Vice Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Menendez is expected to move up to the chairmanship next year when incumbent Charles Schumer moves on after two cycles on the job. That puts the junior Senator from New Jersey into a nationally visible role for the 2010 elections – when (based on historical precedent) Menendez will either be defending seats in Barack Obama’s mid-term election, or looking to pick some up in John McCain’s.

Barack Obama shakes Bob Menendez's hand at the Democratic National Convention in Denver tonight: MSNBC Photo
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, who did not get a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, made it near the stage tonight -- he watched Joe Biden accept the vice presidential nomination from premium seats near the stage, in a box that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean, and former Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle. After Barack Obama joined Biden on the stage, he made his way over and shook hands with the junior Senator from New Jersey.

To U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), the lack of any primetime speakers at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions is just another example of both parties using the Garden State cash machine before abandoning the state to its own devices.

“I think it was an insult to the state of New Jersey because a lot of money comes out of this state for both political parties, and a lot of support for both political parties. So there’s no excusing it,” he said.

Responding to a Star-Ledger report that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) was eventually offered a speaking spot but turned it down because it wasn’t primetime, Pascrell quickly responded that they only offered it “after the fact.”