Linda Stender at a 2006 rally with former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob MenendezWell before knowing who their candidate will be to run in place of U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, Republicans say they're no more worried about losing the seat than they were before Ferguson decided not to seek reelection.

Their reason: likely Democratic candidate Linda Stender's performance in her supposedly safe Assembly re-election two weeks ago, when she beat her closest Republican opponent who spent almost no money by only 3,332 votes - a difference of about 7%. That, they say, is evidence that her 2006 election against Ferguson, which she lost by a single point, was more the product of a bad Republican year than evidence of Republican vulnerabilities in the district.

"Stender's staggering underperformance in her re-election for the State Assembly is further evidence that the people of New Jersey do not agree with her tax and spend record," said National Republican Congressional Committee Spokeswoman Julie Shutley in a statement.

AMODEO: IF THE FACTS DON'T ADD UP, JUST MAKE IT UP

Second District Republicans Take a Page out of the Bush-Cheney Playbook

(EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ) – In a campaign dirty trick that would make George W. Bush proud, 2nd District Republican Assembly candidate John Amodeo is bankrolling a TV ad that distorts a newspaper editorial and smears Democratic Assembly candidate Joe Wilkins

Democrat Seema Singh, who is the target of a state ethics investigation, seems to be frustrating some fellow Democrats  by what one member of her party called an “intellectually dishonest” campaign for State Senator against Republican Bill Baroni.  It helps that Baroni seems to be adept at staying a couple of steps ahead of Singh.

The 14th district State Senate candidates are girding for battle at Steinert High School tonight, and once again GOP Assemblyman Bill Baroni is heading into a Fair and Clean Elections debate with the Georg W. Bush factor fairly smothered.

In addition to his responsibilities as New Jersey’s corruption buster, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has another job:  he is the self-proclaimed boss of Bruce Springsteen’s fan club. 

So how does the federal prosecutor and GOP gubernatorial candidate, who attended Springsteen’s concert at the Meadlowlands this week, feel about new album, “Magic,” which clearly buts the Boss at odds with another Christie hero, George W. Bush, the Republican President who named him U.S. Attorney five years ago?   Several  Democrats, none of whom want to be named, said they saw him at the concert and he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani continue to hold substantial leads in New Jersey's February 5, 2008 presidential primaries, according to a new Strategic Vision poll released today. Clinton leads Barack Obama by a 52%-21% margin among Democrats (John Edwards is at 7% and Bill Richardson at 5%), while Republicans give Giuliani a 53%-11% advantage over Fred Thompson. John McCain and Mitt Romney each have 7%.

In New Jersey, President George W. Bush has an upside-down overall job approval rating of 18%-71%. Seven out of ten voters disapprove of his handling of the economy, 69% disapprove of his handling of the war in Iraq, and 57% want a U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq within six mohths. But New Jersey voters, by a 49%-41% margin, approve of Bush's handling of the war on terrorism.

Over the past several months, Democrats have tried to go pound for pound on the outrage meter with the GOP over Gov. Jon Corzine’s asset monetization study for the state’s toll roads.

Not to be outdone as an opposition target, President George W. Bush on Wednesday scratched his pen through a measure that would have re-authorized the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said the purpose of the opposition is to oppose.  So why doesn't the New Jersey Republican party oppose more effectively and often?  The reality is that elected Republicans in the state legislature are a part of the establishment that enjoys the perks of public office that they and the Democrats put in place over the years.

Also the GOP is unable to capitalize on the Democrats’ considerable problems.  They do not cultivate and field and most importantly fund young candidates of promise in enough districts to make a difference even if they have a good year.  One should not have to self-fund a political campaign to be able to run for office especially in the beginning of a political career.

Democrats gave President George W. Bush a drubbing in the last election, and they can’t believe he’s again providing them with an opening as he threatens to veto the expansion and re-authorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

"I just don’t know what he’s thinking about," said state Sen. Joseph Vitale in a telephone interview as he returned from a press conference with Gov. Jon Corzine, who today announced his decision to join a lawsuit with seven other states against the Bush administration.

Some more empirical evidence that Democrats are scared to death of the front runner for the 2009 Republican gubernatorial nomination: none of the political spokesmen have said a word on the record about U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie's announcement yesterday that former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft would serve as a court-appointed monitor of five medical device implant companies who have settled a $300 million lawsuit.