Hillary Clinton

Democrats have a fourteen point voter registration edge over Republicans in New Jersey, 34%-20%, according to a summary released by the state Division of Elections last Thursday.  But nearly half of New Jersey voters (46%) are not affiliated with a political party.

Since October 2008, Democratic voter registration has actually declined, by 15,430 voters, while the number of registered Republicans has increased by 6,794.  The total number of registered voters in New Jersey has decreased by 142,328 over the last year.

Unaffiliated voters, commonly but incorrectly referred to as independents, represent the largest voting bloc in 19 of 21 counties.  Only Essex and Hudson have less unaffiliated voters than registered Democrats.

Democrats have a voter registration edge in fifteen counties, while there are more Republicans than Democrats in only Cape May, Hunterdon, Morris, Ocean, Sussex and Warren counties.  A surge in party registration in 2008, likely to participate in a February Democratic presidential primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, helped Democrats take the voter registration lead in Burlington, Monmouth and Somerset counties.  Republicans control county government in Burlington and Somerset, and had a majority on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders until ten months ago.

Organizing for America (OFA), a Democratic National Committee project aimed at continuing the grass roots network developed during Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign has hired two full-time operatives to work in New Jersey during the 2009 campaign.  Samantha Gordon, a former special assistant to Gov. Jon Corzine, will serve as New Jersey State Director, and Rob Dible, who was a regional field director for Obama in northeast Missouri, will serve as New Jersey Field Director.

If Jerramiah Healy wins re-election as Mayor of Jersey City tomorrow, it would be excellent news for Newark Mayor Cory Booker.  Healy and Booker are close political allies (and friends), and the conventional wisdom is that Healy, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman, will support Booker for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2013.

About 31% of the statewide Democratic primary vote comes out of Essex and Hudson counties - a good base for Booker if he decides he wants to run statewide.

U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-Newark)

As he praised the Obama administration’s diplomatic work abroad and the president’s “willingness to listen,” U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-Newark) stuck a jab at the administration of Obama’s predecessor during his opening remarks on the House Foreign Policy Committee this morning.

“His meetings went great,” Payne said of Obama’s recent trip to Europe. “I understand he was even close to ‘old Europe.’”

The crack was a reference to former Defense Department Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s shrug-off statement about Europe, and immediately prompted a laugh from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Congressional hot seat. 

Back from Africa where his plane took some fire and two days after Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo honored Payne for his work with a plaza dedication ceremony, the veteran congressman urged Clinton to pay attention to the Sudan, where he said a comprehensive peace agreement is not going well; Western Sahara; and Somalia, where Payne said there exists a great opportunity for America to assist.  

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President-elect Barack Obama won't make federal appointments in New Jersey, like U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal, without going through the state's two Democratic Senators, Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez.

There is no shortage of Democrats picking horses in the race for several top federal appointments in the new administration, especially U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal.  Gov. Jon Corzine has been weighing in with his recommendations, as have key Democratic leaders who supported Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in the February 5 presidential primary.  One thing that ought to be crystal clear to potential federal jobseekers -- there are only two votes that matter: U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez.  Ultimately, the White House will make no appointments out of New Jersey that don’t run through the two Democratic Senators.  That’s the way it works.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) in Paterson this afternoon.

PATERSON – There’s an old boast in Hudson County that if you take a politician out of there and put him anywhere else in the country, he’ll soon be running the place.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) didn’t gloat today as he faced the cameras and took questions on the day Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) named him to succeed U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

But the former mayor of Union City was Hudson County-cryptic when asked how his helmsman-ship would differ from that of his predecessor across the river.

“In terms of style, he has his, and I have mine, and that’s it,” Menendez said.

Speaking at a press conference in Paterson City Hall on the issue of federal foreclosure aid with Gov. Jon Corzine, who served in the U.S. Senate as DSCC chairman when President-elect Barack Obama’s came of age as a statewide candidate, Menendez later fielded several questions about his new role.

Gov. Jon Corzine appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning and talked up Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) for the job of secretary of state in an Obama administration. 

"First of all she probably knows every major foreign leader," Corzine said. "She already has relationships where she can sit and talk directly about the problems that exist either on a bilateral or multilateral basis. She has a full grasp of the issues. She has studied it, and been as effective as any senator about articulating a point of view.

"She will bring instant credibility to those efforts," Corzine added. "She is smart. She works as hard as anybody ever has that I have ever been around. So, I think she could be a great partner with Barack Obama."

Fourth District residents are getting calls from Hillary Clinton.

Clinton recorded a robocall for Democrat Josh Zeitz, who’s challenging U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) – the longest-serving incumbent in the state.

“Hi, this is Senator Hillary Clinton calling to ask you to vote for Josh Zeitz for Congress on Tuesday, November 4^th,” she says in the call. “Josh Zeitz knows that your priorities are to repair this broken economy and ensure that all Americans receive quality, affordable health care, and these will be his priorities in Congress.”

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Former President Bill Clinton with Linda Stender in the closing days of the 2006 campaign

CRANFORD -- Speaking in support of Assemblywoman Linda Stender's congressional bid at Union County College today, former President Bill Clinton said Hillary had sent him.

"She said that New Jersey had been good to me and good to her, and we needed to be good to New Jersey by helping Linda Stender get elected to Congress," said Clinton.

Clinton spent the bulk of his time giving his usual stump speech for Barack Obama, but he started off by rattling off some of Stender's accomplishments in the legislature.  He characterized her as an integral part of a sweeping change needed in Washington.

"I have reviewed Linda Stender's record very carefully, and if you look at the needs of America today, I think you can make a very compelling case that she has a record that is one of the finest not only in the legislature in New Jersey, but in the entire United States of America," he said.

Clinton specifically mentioned Stender's global warming bill, her previous work dealing with mortgages, her support for stem cell research and her bill to ban junk food in school cafeterias.

He also demonstrated some familiarity with her last race against now-retiring U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson.

"She lost by 3,000 votes last time.  There are enough people in this room to turn 3,000 votes between now and Tuesday," he said.

He was less familiar with the margins he won New Jersey by in his two elections.  Clinton said he won the first time by one percent, and the second time by 15 percent.

"We haven't won by less since," he said. (John Kerry beat President Bush in the New Jersey by 6%).

Nobody can accuse Gov. Jon Corzine of not being politically active this election cycle.

He's become one of Barack Obama's point men on the economy, campaigning for him in Philadelphia and Florida and just yesterday appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" as a surrogate. But when it comes to the campaigns of New Jersey Democrats who are engaged in tight federal races, Corzine has largely played a background role, having made only a couple brief campaign appearances with 7th District congressional candidate Linda Stender and none with 3rd District candidate John Adler.

Nationally, Obama can use Corzine's image as the economically savvy Goldman Sachs CEO. That idea no longer applies in New Jersey. Throughout the campaign, Corzine has been to Republicans what President Bush has been to Democrats: a public figure to rally the troops against, though to a lesser than Bush.

Tonight, Corzine will attend Sen. Hillary Clinton's fundraiser for Stender, but it's not open to the press or general public. Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray thinks the Democrats want to keep it that way.

"Neither George Bush nor Jon Corzine helps any candidates in those races," said Murray. "So the more Jon Corzine stays out, the better it is. George Bush is the lesser popular of the two figures, so the Democrats want to keep that focus on George Bush and they don't want it muted or neutralized by bringing Jon Corzine into the picture."