Dennis Shulman

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added New Jersey's fifth district to their "Red to Blue" fundaising program "once thought to be out of reach."  The Republican incumbent, Scott Garrett, faces Dennis Shulman, a blind Rabbi who has run an aggressive and surprisingly well-financed campaign in a district that hasn't elected a Democratic Congressman since 1978.  But the Red to Blue list is clearly not the DCCC's first-tier campaigns, and inclusion in the program doesn't assure any meaningful campaign dollars or substantial political support and includes over sixty House races nationally where Democrats aren't completely optimistic.  Josh Zeitz, who is challenging fifteen-term incumbent Christopher Smith in the fourth district, was added to the Red to Blue list in September.  Smith is still viewed as a safe bet for re-election.

In the 5th Congressional District, incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett will debate Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman three times this month.

The debates could provide good political theater in this potentially competitive race.  Shulman, a blind rabbi and psychologist, has unleashed his considerable campaign war chest on Garrett (R-Wantage) in the form of advertising, highlighting Garrett’s Farmland Assessment Tax Break.  Garrett, meanwhile, has kept a high profile in Washington as one of the most outspoken critics of the recently passed financial bailout package.

The first debate will take place at Temple Emanuel in Woodcliff Lake on Sunday, October 19th at 7p.m.  The candidates will debate the following Wednesday at Sussex Community College at 8p.m., followed by a Friday debate on WRNJ radio at 11:00 a.m.

White House counsel and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie will come to Bergen County tomorrow to raise money for U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage).

Garrett Campaign Manager Amanda Gasperino confirmed that Gillespie, who grew up in Burlington County, will host a fundraiser for Garrett in the 5th Congressional District.

“The fundraiser is going to be held in District Five before the end of the election, and the tickets are priced just right,” she said.

According to the Bergen County Republicans' Web site, the event will be a luncheon tomorrow at Seasons Restaurant in Washington Township. Tickets to attend the lunch are $250 per head -- a special VIP reception will run $1,000 per person.

U.S. Rep.Scott Garrett isn’t following John McCain’s example and formally suspending his campaign, but his staff insist that he’s spending most of his time in Washington right now.

”Congressman Garrett is in Washingtonworking diligently to help find a solution to the current economic crisis. He has always put the needs of the district before political campaigning, and this is no exception,” said Garrett Campaign Manager Amanda Gasperino. “Taking leadership on the need for sensible legislation, Garrett has introduced a bipartisan bill to form a Select Committee to investigate the financial bailouts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and Bear Stearns. Additionally, the Congressman has demanded that President Bush provide transparency in the 700 billion dollar bailout plan to protect the interests of taxpayers."

Dennis Shulman in Denver last month.: Politicker photo 

They say there are about two or three enduring storylines in world literature, and over the last year there have proved to be two or three storylines in New Jersey politics..

In the U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett/Dennis Shulman Fifth Congressional District contest, the Shulman campaign argues that it’s the Ellen Karcher story all over again, with Garrett receiving a $41,000 tax break on a piece of land that yields approximately $700 per year in income.

In a television ad that went up today on Channel 5 in the district, Shulman charges that by enjoying the tax loophole, Garrett proves he is just another "corrupt politician."

Seeking to avoid any connection to indicted Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, Barack Obama's New Jersey presidential campaign won't use the Bergen County Democratic headquarters this fall -- a high tech operation that includes over 100 telephone lines.  At a meeting of the party's Executive Committee earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Steven Rothman, the Chairman of Obama's state campaign, announced that fifth district congressional candidate Dennis Shulman's Wyckoff headquarters will be used instead.  That's a slightly different message than the one coming from Obama state campaign director Tricia Mueller, who has told Bergen Democrats that they would be based out of the Carpenter's Union hall in Hackensack.  Mueller was a political operative for the Carpenters before joining the Obama campaign.

The Joe Ferriero indictment has spilled over into the 5th District Congressional race.

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin today asked Democrat Dennis Shulman, who’s challenging U.S. Rep. E. Scott Garrett in the Bergen-dominated district, to call on Ferriero – who was indicted last week on eight corruption counts along with former BCDO general counsel Dennis Oury – to permanently resign from his chairmanship.

“If Mr. Shulman is to seriously demonstrate his commitment to the people of the Fifth District and to clean government, why then has he not called for the resignation of a corrupt party boss?” said Yudin. “At a time when Democratic leaders such as Gov. Jon Corzine and Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan have already asked for Ferriero to step aside, I question why Mr. Shulman has not followed suit?”

New York Governor David Paterson said he shares a special bond with Dennis Shulman, the blind rabbi and psychologist who’s running in the 5th Congressional District.

“I’m really proud of him. He’s a great person and we’ve got a lot of similar experiences, and it was a lot of fun to have some kinship,” said Paterson, who like Shulman has been legally blind since childhood. “There are a lot of African-American elected officials, but the only blind elected official I ever met was the former Lieutenant Governor from Maryland."

Shulman was in the audience when Paterson gave the keynote address at the New Jersey delegation’s breakfast this morning. Paterson actually endorsed Shulman before former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned, when he was merely Lieutenant Governor. Since then, he’s held two fundraising events with Shulman in New York City.

Both Shulman and Paterson said a third event is planned, though they haven’t worked out the specifics.

Jeff Van Drew insists he won’t be a late entrant into the second district House race against Republican U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, a district where Democrats think Joe Biden’s presence at the top of the ticket could help a congressional candidate in Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem counties – where some residents watch Delaware TV.  

U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and his niece, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg: Getty Images Photo

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