In the hard-fought 12th district, Democratic Senator Ellen Karcher worked the Route 9 diner circuit this afternoon with Senate President Richard Codey. Her Republican challenger, Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, went door-to-door in Tinton Falls with one of her running mates, Declan O'Scanlon, then fell back to headquarters to make phone calls.

The GOP team, which also includes Caroline Casagrande, was planning to work the train stations in Red Bank and Little Silver in the early evening hours before rendezvousing in Freehold to brace for election results later tonight, according to campaign spokesman Tom Fitzsimmons.

Maria Del Valle-Koch, acting director of the state Division of Elections, said there have been no reports to her office of irregularities at the polls so far.

"Everything has been unusually quiet," said Del Valle-Koch at a little after 3:30 p.m. "Hopefully we won't be experiencing anything. There have been no substantial problems."

Slapped on Election Day with a front page headline notifying voters in Hamilton Township that there is a $5 million shortfall in the budget, Mayor Glen Gilmore said he is confident Hamiltonians will judge him on his full body of work as mayor.

"They came in at the last minute but we have laid the foundation to withstand that," said Gilmore in the Colonial Firehouse, addressing the Republican Township Council's successful efforts yesterday to release the town's financial assessment in the hours before Election Day.