Anne Evans Estabrook

WESTFIELD - State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio beat businesswoman AnneState Sen. Joseph Pennacchio Evans Estabrook at the Union County GOP Convention here today, winning 191 votes to Estabrook's 151 votes in their Republican pre-primary contest for U.S. Senate.

"They think you have to be advertising, but you have to be out there and that's what we've done," said Pennacchio. "We knocked on doors, we called elected officials. We walked Clark, Summit and Cranford."

Pennacchio and Estabrook went head to head in a second round of machine voting after neither candidate earned the requisite 50% plus 1 in the first round, while eliminating economics Prof. Murray Sabrin.

First round voting went as follows: Pennacchio gained 178 votes, Estabrook 170 votes, and Sabrin, 17 votes.

The Union County Republicans will hold their convention to choose a House and Senate candidate tomorrow morning.

The meeting will take place at 8:30 a.m. at Westfield High School.

Among the many candidates competing for the House nod are two from Union County : former Summit Councilwoman P. Kelly Hatfield and Scotch Plains Mayor Marty Marks.

State Sen. Joe Pennacchio has won some important Ocean County endorsements for his U.S. Senate race.

Pennacchio today announced the support of State Senators Andrew Ciesla, Robert Singer and Chris Connors -- all three of whom represent Ocean County.

State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio in Flemington after picking up the endorsement of the Hunterdon GOP in his U.S. Senate bid.FLEMINGTON - U.S. Senate candidate Murray Sabrin stuck to his Ron Paul roots tonight on the issue of Congress’ reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act FISA).

Unlike his fellow Republican primary contestants, Anne Evans Estabrook and State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris), Sabrin dug in against FISA, saying, "Government always claims it has special needs. What they need to do to protect us is to get a warrant from a judge."

"I follow the Constitution," added Sabrin, who claims FISA’s allowance of warrant-less wiretapping violates the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate passed the Protect America Act, which, the majority argued, modernizes FISA.

Republican Senatorial candidate Murray Sabrin continues to assail one of his primary opponents, Anne Evans Estabrook, for being too liberal.

Although voters still favor U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg against an unnamed Republican , his potential Republican opponents see his right-side-up 39-31% approval rating as a sign of weakness.

“That’s within striking distance,” said State Sen. Joe Pennacchio, one of three Republicans vying for the seat. “He’s still under 51% - for an incumbent in there 21 years, those aren’t stellar numbers for an incumbent.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Murray Sabrin unleashed an attack today against businesswoman Anne Evans Estabrook, one of his two primary opponents.

Sabrin, a Ramapo College finance professor and supporter for Texas Republican Ron Paul for president, criticized Estabrook for donating money to some Democratic campaigns and accused her of “speaking out of both sides of her checkbook.”

Gloucester County Republican Chairwoman Loran Oglesby may back Anne Evans Estabrook for U.S. Senate, but Estabrook won’t automatically get the party line there.

Anne Evans EstabrookNational Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign justified his $10,000 contribution to New Jersey Republican U.S. Senate candidate Anne Evans Estabrook to a group of conservative bloggers today during a conference call.

Ensign, who represents Nevada in the Senate, said that the decision was mainly based on practicality – that Estabrook is the most likely of the three current Republican candidates to win an election. While she’s considered a social moderate, Ensign said that her presence in the Senate would support socially conservative causes.

With Super Tuesday upon us, the U.S. Senate candidates are laying low.

Incumbent Democrat Frank Lautenberg, who has refused to pick a horse so far in the Democratic primary, will be tending to Senate business in Washington today. Lautenberg had considered coming up to New Jersey for a victory party -- for the Giants. But the Senate doesn't plan to break and he'll stay in Washington.

Lautenberg campaign manager Brendan Gill said that he’s not sure whether the Senator will endorse a Democrat after Super Tuesday.