Obama camp: Biden has specific Jersey appeal

DENVER - Joe Biden’s blue collar roots, support from police and firefighters, his regular guy commute to and from his job in Washington, and his foreign policy credentials all contribute to helping Barack Obama’s presidential campaign effort in New Jersey, according to spokesman Andrew Poag.

"He has a real connection to middle class voters," said Poag of the Delaware senator and presumptive vice presidential candidate, with whom Obama will stand today in Springfield, Illinois.

"He’s never lived in Washington, and he’s almost like a third senator in New Jersey," said Poag, who received a text message at 3 a.m. Saturday confirming Biden as Obama’s veep pick.

In a conversation with PolitickerNJ.com earlier this summer, Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden), noted Biden’s special connection to South Jersey, where his wife, Jill, has roots.

Moreover, "Biden gets you Pennsylvania," Roberts said of the Scranton, Pa. native, whom Roberts believed would be Obama’s best choice.

As the New Jersey delegation continues to land at the Inverness Hotel in Denver in advance of the Democratic National Convention, which starts Monday, Obama’s core New Jersey campaign team will remain on the ground and continue to operate.

Led by Campaign Director Tricia Mueller, the campaign will officially open its headquarters on Route 1 in West Windsor "sometime in the near future," said Poag.