Chris Smith

It’s not exactly a surprise, but the incumbent Congressmen in safe districts who have statewide aspirations tend to have the largest war chests.

Take, for instance, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch).  His Republican opponent, former Judge Robert McLeod, didn’t even raise the $5,000 that would require him to fill out a report with the Federal Election Commission.  But Pallone is raising and spending money anyway, raking in $302,139 last quarter for a total of $2.18 million this election cycle.  He has $3.36 million on hand – the largest war chest in Congress – and spent $304,000 this quarter.

That money is not being spent against McLeod.  The expenditures listed in the FEC report includes a $189,015 cable television ad buy.  The commercial, which began on Tuesday, is playing all over the state north of Interstate 195, in places well beyond Pallone’s district.

Matthew John Rinaldo (1931-2008)
Friends and rivals remember Matthew J. Rinaldo, a former Republican Congressman who died yesterday after a long bout with Parkinson's disease at age 77, for his bipartisan style and top notch constituent services.

For Rinaldo, a Republican, that bipartisanship was partly out of necessity. For the entirety of his 20 years in the House, he was a member of the minority party.

"There is no Republican now serving in the House of Representatives who has ever chaired a committee, gaveled a hearing to order, or scheduled a bill for debate on the House floor," he said in a statement announcing his retirement. "Unfortunately, I do not foresee any prospect of that changing in the near term."

Rinaldo served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee as well as the House Select Committee on Aging, and those who knew him say he was frustrated that he never got a chairmanship.

Two years later, the Republicans swept into power. But many of the newcomers of the "Republican Revolution," led by the new House Speaker Newt Gingrich, were not Rinaldo's ilk. They were rock-ribbed conservatives, while he was a moderate with strong labor ties and strong alliances with key Democrats.

He developed a political alliance with Elizabeth Mayor Thomas Dunn - a Democrat who endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980 - and carried that heavily Democratic city during most, if not all, of his campaigns.

"They both worked across the aisle. That's why both of them were so successful. The key in new jersey has been, and still is, people who can appeal to both parties," said former Gov. Tom Kean. "I did the same thing."

Democrat Josh Zeitz wants to stop Rep. Chris Smith from winning a 15th term
In the 4th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) and Democratic challenger Josh Zeitz have two joint editorial board meetings scheduled before election day. Whether those count as debates depends on who you ask.

According to Zeitz, they don’t count, and Smith has ignored legitimate third party invitations to engage in actual public debates.

“They’re not public. Members of public can’t attend them, and the public can’t ask questions,” he said.

With the House likely to vote on the revised bailout package tomorrow, six of the seven New Jersey congressmen who voted against it on Monday have either not decided or not indicated how they will vote tomorrow. 

Only Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) has given any inkling as to how he’ll vote.  On Fox News this morning, he said that the bill has barely changed.

“Basically we’re getting the exact same bill with some pork added to it to sweeten things up.  And that doesn’t make matters better. It really makes matters worse,” he said. 

The New Jersey delegation's vote on the bailout bill was close, and did not occur along party lines.

But while there were some odd vote combinations, with liberal Congressmen like U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) voting the same way as his conservative neighbor, Scott Garrett (R-Wantage), they tended to cite different reasons.

Ultimately, New Jersey Congressmen voted against the bill by a 7-6 margin. None, however, enthusiastically supported it. Nor did any of its detractors express glee at its downfall, and some expressed more openness to voting for a new compromise package than others.

By far the most vociferous opponent of the bailout was Garrett, who yesterday took to the floor and excoriated his colleagues who supported it.

Josh Zeitz, left, speaks to a Saturday crowd that includes Mercer County Executive Brian J. Hughes, right.: Politicker photo 

TRENTON - Since the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last week listed the 4th Congressional race as one to watch, Democratic challenger Josh Zeitz has received, on average, cash commitments of $10,000 per day for his campaign, according to spokesman Steven D’Amico.

"It’s more than what we were getting before," said D’Amico, who wouldn’t specify exactly how much more.

Bolstered by the cash infusion, Zeitz took the floor at Saturday’s Obama HQ opening and declared that Nov. 4th will usher in a Democratic sweep.

Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) and Josh Zeitz in Trenton this afternoon.: Politicker photo 

TRENTON - Wall Street is melting down while President George W. Bush fundraises in Colts Neck for candidates who will continue his failed policies, argued Democrats at a Statehouse press conference this afternoon.

State Democratic Chairman Joseph Cryan stood with congressional candidates, Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) and professor Joshua Zeitz of Bordentown. They all whiplashed Republicans for allowing Bush to come and raise money in a state where the latest Strategic Vision poll shows the president with a 20 percent job approval rating.

Campaign staffers for Republican congressional candidates Leonard Lance and Chris Myers say they expect President Bush to show up for their joint fundraiser Monday, even though he's canceled fundraising appearances in Florida and Alabama to deal with the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, Democrats across the state are putting together a game plan, intent on not letting the unpopular president's private appearance go unnoticed by New Jerseyans.

A poll released today by Strategic Vision put Bush's New Jersey approval rating at 20 percent.

Fourth district congressional candidate Josh Zeitz has been added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “races to watch” list.

The placement could put Zeitz, who’s challenging long-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton), on deck to receive fundraising help from the DCCC over the next two months.

The “races to watch” category is the third tier of the group’s prospects. The first tier – the “Red to Blue” program - provides fundraising help in the most competitive districts. Assemblywoman Linda Stender, who’s running against Republican state Sen. Leonard Lance for an open seat in District 7, and State Sen. John Adler, who’s running Republican Medford Mayor Chris Myers for an open seat in District 3, are in that program. Blind rabbi/psychologist Dennis Shulman, who’s running against U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett in the 5th District, is in the second tier “emerging races” program.

Republican Chris Smith is seeking his 15th term in Congress. He was first elected in 1980.: Getty Images Photo
An outraged U.S. Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-Hamilton) wants an apology from his Democratic challenger for calling him a bigot and for falsely charging that he concealed campaign contributions from two conservative Christian groups.

Democrat Josh Zeitz, a college history professor challenging the fourteen-term Congressman, released a video this week seeking to dispel the notion that Smith is a moderate. Yesterday he took that a step further, calling Smith a “bigot.”

Zeitz’s claims were amplified by an article in The New Republic, a left leaning magazine, which yesterday outlined Smith’s ties to what Zeitz called “religious-right hate groups.”

Today, the magazine retracted part of their story and, Smith says, apologized to him.