Anne Estabrook

Voters have no idea who the Republican U.S. Senate candidates are, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released this morning. 84% of voters have never heard of State Senator Joseph Pennacchio, 87% don’t recognize Anne Evans Estabrook, and 89% have no idea who Murray Sabrin is. Among Republicans, the number is similarly dismal: 82% haven’t heard of Pennacchio, 83% don’t know who Sabrin is, and 87% are unfamiliar with Estabrook.

“No brand name has entered the race for the Republicans,” said Peter Woolley, a political scientist and director of the poll. “In part, that is a reflection of poor prospects for the Republican Party nationally which is bogged down with an unpopular President, an unpopular war, and a softening economy.”

The four-term incumbent, Democrat Frank Lautenberg, is known by 85% of New Jersey voters; he has a 42%-23% favorability rating.

“He’s a brand name and they like him.” Woolley said.

The Bergen County Republican Organization Screening Committee voted tonight to support State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination.  Pennacchio defeated Ramapo College Prof. Murray Sabrin, a Bergen resident, by a 25-14 vote.  Anne Evans Estabrook, the millionaire businesswoman who is self-financing her race, received ony 6 votes.

Dr. Murray Sabrin calls for four debates in March

Matt Friedman's story on U.S. Senate candidate Anne Evans Esatbrook made a comparison to Jeanine Pirro, the former New York Senate candidate whose campaign faced some difficulties after a frozen moment. It's interesting to point out that Pirro's campaign manager, Brian Donahue, is now the Vice President of Jamestown Associates, Estabrook's campaign consultants.

Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson doesn’t like where the Republican U.S. Senate primary appears to be going.

Noting the attacks lobbed against Anne Evans Estabrook by the rival campaigns of Murray Sabrin and State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, Wilson said that the campaigns so far are very close to violating Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican."

“I’m Switzerland here, and I’m beginning to think I need to do what I did in 2005 with all the gubernatorial candidates: invite them to have a discussion about this campaign,” he said. “It’s ok to point out differences, but there’s no reason to get personal about it or ascribe motivations to people. Fight as hard as you can, but fight fairly.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Anne Evans Estabrook’s loss for words while answering a question on gun control may have gone unnoticed a few years ago, but in an age where a video of the awkward moment can circulate quickly in political circles, it could become the silence heard across New Jersey.

“It seemed like kind of a mistake that someone running for the first time in office might make, and it was done in the right kind of context with a small group meeting, where you’re practicing your stump speech, working on your ability to articulate ideas and your policy positions,” said Dr. Joseph Marbach, a political science professor at Seton Hall.

“Unfortunately, it was videotaped,” Marbach noted.

Did Anne Estabrook need her notes to answer a question on the second amendment at a recent forum for Republican U.S. Senate candidates? That’s what the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee seems to think after viewing a video of Estabrook’s response posted on the Internet by one of her GOP rivals, Prof. Murray Sabrin. Estabrook, the Democrats say, “stumbles for 24 seconds to search through her notes for the right answer.”

Hunterdon County last night was significant: Hunterdon cast the seventh most number of votes in the 2006 GOP primary, and this was the first real intramural contest of the campaign for the chance to challenge four-term incumbent Frank Lautenberg in November. Pennacchio won 43-35, with 12 votes for Murray Sabrin, a Ramapo College professor and the Chairman of Ron Paul’s New Jersey campaign.

Joe Pennacchio won the Hunterdon GOP line by 7 votesState Sen. Joseph Pennacchio defeated businesswoman Anne Evans Estabrook to win the endorsement of the Hunterdon County Republican organization tonight. Pennacchio won 42-35, with Ramapo College Professor Murray Sabrin finishing third with 12 votes.

"I am proud to have the support of Hunterdon County's Republicans," Pennacchio said in a statement. "I know
that they stand with me on the most important issues facing New Jersey and
the nation."