DICK ZIMMER

Biotech millionaire John Crowley is still mulling a bid for the Republican nomination for Governor.  If he wins, he'd be the first Governor with no previous public sector experience since Woodrow Wilson moved from college president to Governor in 1910.  But in U.S. Senate races, the lack of political experience is more prevalent: New Jersey sent first-time candidates to the Senate in 1942, 1978, 1982 and 2000.

And if you're an extreme political junkie: if Leonard Lance wins a House seat tomorrow, he'll join a fairly elite group -- New Jersey  Congressmen who have served in both the State Senate and General Assembly.  The last ones were Bob Menendez in 1992, Jim Saxton in 1984, Harold Hollenbeck in 1976, Joseph Maraziti in 1972, and Elijah Hutchinson in 1914.

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.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park)

Both professing to be champions of New Jersey’s middle class, but for different philosophical reasons, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) and his opponent, former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, engaged in their second and final debate tonight in the studios of NJN.

Objecting to Lautenberg’s indulgence in pursuing earmark projects, Zimmer said in times of economic peril, the people need a fiscal conservative like himself.

For his part, Lautenberg made no apologies for being a partisan Democrat who grew up poor and depended in part on the government to get a shot at the American Dream.

A poll released yesterday shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by 10 points in New Jersey -- five points closer than the same pollster previously found.

The SurveyUSA poll of 800 New Jerseyans, released yesterday, puts Obama at 52% to McCain’s 42%. That’s identical to a SurveyUSA poll from a month ago, but less of a gap than one released two weeks ago.

U.S. Senate candidates Frank Lautenberg and Dick Zimmer will meet for their second and final debate tonight at NJN studios in Trenton.  NJN News anchor Kent Manahan will moderate the debate, and a panel of reporters from NJN News, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Gannett New Jersey will question the candidates.  The one-hour debate will be broaccast live on NJN tonight, simulcast on NJN Public Radio, and rebroadcast at 11:30AM Sunday morning.  The debate can also been seen on WHYY on Sunday at 5PM, and on WNET on Sunday at 11:30 PM.

The 3rd district congressional race between Democrat John Adler and Republican Christopher Myers is a statistical dead heat, according to a Zogby International poll conducted by The Press of Atlantic City and The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.  More than 16% of the voters poll remain undecided, with each candidate at 39%.   Adler, a State Senator from Camden County, and Myers, the Mayor of Medford, are seeking the seat of Republican Jim Saxton, who is retiring after 24 years in the House.  Republicans have held this seat since 1884.

Third district voters are also split on races for President and U.S. Senate: Barack Obama, 45%, John McCain, 44%; and Dick Zimmer, 45%, Frank Lautenberg 44%.

On this final weekend before the election, NJN’s On the Record will feature a discussion of the U.S. Senate debate with Republican political analyst Roger Bodman, former Governor Jim Florio, Montclair State Political Science Professor Brigid Harrison and Monmouth University professor/pollster Patrick Murray.

That show, hosted by Michael Aron, will air Sunday at 9 and 11a.m., and again on Monday at 6:30a.m

On Reporter’s Roundtable, Aron will host Jonathan Tamari of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Charles Stile of the Bergen Record, Kevin McArdle of Millennium Radio and Matt Friedman of PolitickerNJ.com.  The reporters will discuss the U.S. Senate and Congressional races.  It airs today at 7p.m. and Sunday at 10a.m.

Democrats and Republicans seem to agree that 84-year-old U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg did just fine in his debate this week with Republican Dick Zimmer.  The George Allen/James Stockdale kind of moment Republicans were hoping for never happened; pundits from both sides say that Lautenberg won it on his own merits.  Zimmer complained that this was the first Senate campaign in years that didn't include a debate on New York and Philadelphia network affiliate television (this debate was on NJ101.5 radio, and Saturday's on New Jersey Public Television) -- a move that got him in a ton of trouble with NJ101.5's The Jersey Guys.

Frank Lautenberg is positioned to become the first five-term U.S. Senator in New Jersey history

Democrat Frank Lautenberg has a 52%-32% lead in his bid for a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, and 72% of voters haven't heard of his Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, according to a poll released this morning by Fairleigh Dickinson University.

“Senator Lautenberg has not had to run hard this year,” said Peter Woolley, a political scientist and director of the poll. “He’s caught in the updraft of enthusiasm for the Democratic presidential candidate and frustration with the Bush administration.”

Contrary to popular belief, there is a New Jersey U.S. Senate race this year.

Aside from their joint editorial board meeting with Gannett, tonight is the first debate between U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg and former Rep. Dick Zimmer – a race that, to Zimmer’s chagrin, has been fairly under the media’s radar.

The two are going head to head at New Jersey 101.5’s studios, but the debate will be rebroadcast on News 12 New Jersey tomorrow night. On Saturday, they’ll go one-on-one at NJN. Those are the exact same outlets that Lautenberg agreed to debate primary challenger U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews on. Like those debates, these both occur shortly before the election, making it unlikely that they’ll change the course of the campaigns.