Barack Obama

U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-10), left, and his son Freeholder and Newark Councilman Donald Payne, Jr. 

U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-10) issued a statement today concerning his switch of support from Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to Sen. Barack Obama (D-NJ) in their presidential contest.

"Hillary Clinton is a good friend, and I continue to hold her in high regard," said Payne, a party superdelegate. "She has made important contributions to our nation through her outstanding work as First Lady and in the United States Senate."

Representative Frank Pallone acknowledged today that Hillary Clinton is the underdog for the Democratic presidential nomination, but said that he will continue supporting her until she either wins or decides to end her run.

“I’m sticking with her. I think it’s her decision to decide what she wants to do,” he said. “As long as she’s running I’m supporting her.”

Pallone disputed the conventional wisdom that Barack Obama is virtually sure to win the nomination, saying that it’s “still possible for (Clinton) to win”

“You still have some primaries, you still have the superdelegates and you still have Florida and Michigan,” he said.

Mayor Cory Booker frolics with seniors in the Central Ward 

NEWARK - Fresh off a Motown workout with Newark seniors at the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center, Mayor Cory Booker reveled in running with the underdogs in a high stakes political contest in which his candidate just took a hit.

Booker’s an at-large delegate for Sen. Barack Obama, who lost to Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary in Pennsylvania in their ongoing war to be the party’s presidential nominee.

Gov. Jon Corzine 

Gov. Jon Corzine said Sen. Hillary Clinton's near double-digit victory over arch-rival Sen. Barack Obama in Pennsylvania last night lays the foundation for a successful conclusion to the Democratic Primary for his presidential candidate.

"You can't underestimate that Obama was looking for a knockout. He played to win and lost," Corzine told reporters in an afternoon conference call, which also included State Democratic Chairman Joseph Cryan.

Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D-Union) and fellow Obama volunteers 

Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D-Union) this weekend led a contingent of about 100 Sen. Barack Obama supporters to Philadelphia to go door-to-door for the Democratic Party presidential candidate days before the Pennsylvania primary.

The latest MSNBC poll puts Obama behind Sen. Hillary Clinton, 48% to 43% in Pennsylvania.

Selected last week by his party to serve as an Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention in August, Cohen has volunteered for Obama for the past year.

The Democratic State Committee met tonight to select the delegates it's sending to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Below is the full list:

Bruce Springsteen: 'Obama is the best candidate to lead'In a letter on his Web site today, rock star Bruce Springsteen endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Springsteen, who grew up in Freehold and lives in Rumson, said that Obama “speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years.”

“After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken,” wrote Springsteen. “I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.”

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both narrowly lead John McCain in New Jersey, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll released this morning.

In head-to-head match-ups, Clinton and Obama both beat McCain by 5 point margins – with Clinton having 48% to McCain’s 43%, and Obama having 47% to McCain’s 42%. Obama appears to draw more from independents, while Clinton has stronger support from the state’s Democratic base.

That differs from a Rasmussen poll released earlier this week that shows John McCain leading both Clinton and Obama, though within the poll's margin of error.

A Rasmussen poll released this morning shows Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a statistical dead heat with both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in New Jersey.

McCain holds slight leads against both Obama and Clinton in the Garden State, though both within the poll’s margin of error.

McCain leads Clinton 45%-42%, while he leads Obama by a slightly narrower margin – 46%-45%.

That’s a major change from a month ago, when Rasmussen showed Clinton beating McCain in New Jersey by 11 points. But while Clinton’s support seems to have plunged, Obama remains almost exactly the same – last month, McCain led him 45-43%.

TRENTON - Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) sported an "Obama" button at the Mercer County Democratic Convention on Saturday and affirmed his support for the presidential candidacy of the junior senator from Illinois.