Jim Saxton

Democrat: If Frank Lautenberg wins re-election, he will become the first five-term United States Senator in New Jersey history. But to become the Democratic nominee in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to the United States Senate since 1972, Lautenberg must first win a bitter primary contest against Rob Andrews, a ten-term Congressman from South Jersey who his 34 years his junior. The race is very much about Lautenberg’s age (84) – the controversy about the debates is a metaphor for the “Lautenberg is too old” campaign – and about Andrews’ record on Iraq (perhaps a little hawkish for some New Jersey Democrats). Lautenberg has more money and organizational support, although Andrews is competitive in the fundraising area and has added a few key endorsements (though not organization lines) in Central and North Jersey, and some important labor backing. Lautenberg has never been passive when it comes to political campaigns, and his TV commercials are hard-hitting. He needs to get through the next couple of weeks without a mistake that might highlight his age – clearly the reason he’d rather suffer news reports that he won’t debate than one about a stumble. Leans Lautenberg

Republican: The good news is that the GOP field has settled down -- it’s been almost a month since a new Republican candidate entered the race for the United States Senate; the bad news is that the three contenders – former Rep. Dick Zimmer, State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, and Ramapo College professor Murray Sabrin – are having trouble raising money and diverting attention from the hot Democratic primary. With just a few weeks to go, Republican voters still don’t know who much about the candidates. The GOP primary is a contest between Zimmer and Pennacchio – and not Sabrin, the leader of Ron Paul’s New Jersey campaign; both have several important organization lines. Zimmer, who had been a prodigious fundraiser when he served in Congress in the 1990’s, needs to raise money quickly to secure the chance to run in the general election. Pennacchio needs to win a huge margin in his home county, Morris, which produces more votes in a Republican primary than any other county in the state. Toss-Up.

The Republican candidates running for the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton – Chris Myers, Jack Kelly and Justin Murphy --  will debate this weekend on New Jersey Network’s On the Record with Jim Hooker.  Sunday at 9AM and 11AM, and Monday at 6:30 AM.

DISTRICT 1

Ten-term incumbent Rob Andrews is seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Democrat: Camille Andrews, the wife of Rep. Rob Andrews, is seeking the seat her husband for eighteen years until deciding to challenge incumbent Frank Lautenberg in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary. She faces two primary opponents: Mahdi Ibn-Ziyardm, a social studies teacher and Camden Democratic Committeeman; and John Caramanna, who ran for the State Assembly in 2007 but withdrew from the Democratic primary. Bishop David G. Evans, a major religious and civic leader in Camden and a member of the Democratic National Convention Credentials Committee, dropped out of the race last week. Safe Andrews

Republicans: Rev. Dale Glading, who runs a prison ministry, is the GOP organization candidate. He races a primary challenge from Gulf War veteran Fernando Powers, a supporter of Ron Paul and Murray Sabrin. Safe Glading

Medford Mayor Chris Myers 

In what is quickly becoming a dogfight, Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly this morning derided his opponent, Medford Mayor Chris Myers, for to date not submitting personal financial disclosure information required by the feds.

The Myers campaign answered that they intend to file in the next few days, and meanwhile took aim at Kelly as a government bureaucrat gorged for years on patronage jobs - a depiction that Kelly strenuously resisted.

Less than a week after entering the Republican U.S. Senate race, former Rep. Dick Zimmer has won the endorsement of half of the state’s GOP congressional delegation.

Representatives Frank LoBiondo, Jim Saxton and Mike Ferguson all announced their support for Zimmer today, citing his fiscal conservatism. 

The moment Medford Mayor Chris Myers stepped into the third district congressional primary, most insiders picked himas the favorite Republican to continue retiring Rep. Jim Saxton’s legacy.

Even after Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly entered the GOP race with the support of his large Republican county’s powerful organization support , Myers managed to maintain the mantle of frontrunner, winning the coveted line in his native Burlington County, along with neighboring Camden County -- which only has one town in the district, albeit a large one: Cherry Hill.

But fundraising totals reported by the Press of Atlantic City on Wednesday suggest a race much closer than initially expected.

According to the report, Myers has raised $334,786.77 and has $288,000 on hand. Meanwhile, Kelly has raised approximately $306,000, and has $281,000 on hand.

Democrats eyeing a pickup opportunity in the 3rd District U.S. House race got some good news this week.

The Rothenberg Political Report, a nonpartisan Washington tip-sheet, has shifted the line in the race to the Democrats’ favor.

“With Ocean County, it might be difficult for (Democrat John) Adler ever to be comfortable, but the national environment continues to favor Democrats, and this seat is one of a long list of GOP headaches,” Rothenberg’s Nathan Gonzalez wrote. “Unless there is a fundamental political shift, this race is Toss-Up/Tilt Democratic.”

TRENTON - As Democrats gear up for a bruising senate primary season, unofficial congressional filing results with the state Division of Elections show no same-party challengers to incumbent Democratic congressmen.      

Only in the 1st District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews is vacating his seat to challenge U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg in the primary, are there several hopefuls battling for what Andrews leaves behind.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already called on President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics this summer, Rep. Chris Smith wants to take it further – a complete boycott of the games.

In an interview with PolitickerNJ.com last week, Smith renewed his call to boycott the Olympics, in part because of the Chinese government’s recent crackdown on Tibetan dissent. But Smith has been a long-time advocate of such a protest, stemming from the Chinese regime’s long record of human rights violations.

“I’ve called for it very aggressively,” said Smith, the former chairman of the House Judiciary’s subcommittee on Human Rights and Law. “We’re calling it the ‘genocide Olympics’ because of their enabling of the genocide in Darfur.”

John Adler’s fundraising numbers are impressive: he’s brought in nearly $1.2 million so far as the Democratic candidate for an open congressional seat that has been held by the Republicans since 1882.  This kind of early fundraising success will help Adler grow his warchest exponentially as he competes in one of the nation’s premier House races – the fight for Jim Saxton’s seat.  Adler is expected to be unopposed in the Democratic primary.