Josh Zeitz

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.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) and 4th District Congressional District candidate Josh Zeitz want America to pull the plug on the war in Iraq.

Speaking on a conference call this afternoon, they tallied the $4.5 billion total cost of the six-year old war to the 4th and 6th districts, according to Obama presidential campaign spokesman Andrew Poag, and tied those numbers to the record and campaign rhetoric of GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

"We can’t afford another president who will continue George W. Bush’s failed foreign policies," said Pallone, one of four New Jersey congressmen who voted against the initial resolution authorizing Bush to go into Iraq. 

"Senator Barack Obama (who at the outset opposed the war in a speech he gave in 2002) has proposed a safe and responsible plan to bring our troops home, but John McCain has no plan to end the war," Pallone added.

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.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Cryan address the crowd at Obama HQ on Saturday.: Politicker photo

WEST WINDSOR - The sense here on Saturday is the presidential race is no longer deadlocked nationally.

At this moment.

So when State Democratic Chairman Joseph Cryan asks the crowd of 260 Obama canvassers to demonstrate an upbeat mood, they respond with full-throated gusto in the packed headquarters of Obama’s campaign headquarters.

No one committed to a candidate in this cycle lets pass an opportunity to celebrate the good fortune of his or her presidential aspirant, be he Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) or Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

To hear the media tell the story, the fortunes appear too transient.

If this event occurred a week ago, the mood would have been borderline gloomy. But today Washington is mulling a $700 billion bail-out package for a flat-lining Wall Street and Sen. John McCain - longtime champion of deregulation in the private sector - also lugs a five-day old burden of suggesting that America’s economy is fundamentally sound.

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.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- U.S. Rep. Chris Smith tends to shun the spotlight, but he couldn’t avoid the congratulations coming from his fellow Republicans today.

Smith (R-Hamilton) made an appearance this morning at the delegation breakfast, just weeks after making headlines for extracting two of his constituents from their grandparents’ home in the Republic of Georgia.

Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore came over to greet smith, who represents part of his county.

“You’re looking good,” he said.

Smith last month got an email from one of his constituents, Joseph Evans, telling him that his two daughters were stuck at their grandparents farm in the Republic of Georgia. Smith sprung into action from his district office in Hamilton, spending a week working the phones from Hamilton before heading to Tbilisi himself.

Josh Zeitz, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 4th Josh Zeitz: Politicker file photoCongressional district, today mailed U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) an invitation to four public debates, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglass debates.

Zeitz asked Smith to join him at one public debate in each of the 4th district’s counties.

"The rising cost of food, gas, health care, and education is hurting many working families," wrote Zeitz. "People have a right to know how each of us proposes to address these grave problems, and they have a right to challenge us in a public forum.

Democratic congressional candidate Josh Zeitz today questioned why his opponent, Rep. Chris Smith, donated $2,000 to outgoing Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) less than a month after Renzi’s insurance business was raided by the FBI.

In February, Renzi pleaded not guilty to a 35 count indictment charging him with using his position to influence land deals. Reports of an investigation of Renzi surfaced in late 2006, and the case took on further controversy after its initiator, former Arizona U.S. Attorney Paul K. Charlton, was forced out of his position by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Josh Zeitz in Hamilton today: Politicker Photo

HAMILTON - At a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser in New York City on Thursday, Michelle Obama asked 4th Congressional District challenger Josh Zeitz if he thinks New Jersey will be a battleground for her husband.

Zeitz told the first lady prospect that New Jersey is safely Democratic territory. Then he added something specific about his own challenge of entrenched U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4).

"I told Michelle Obama we’re going to work hard, and yes, we’re going to win that race," he said of his longshot bid to upend the veteran Smith and help give Obama a solid majority in Congress.

As they listened to the story, a small crowd clapped in Zeitz’s Hamilton campaign headquarters, which the candidate opened today on South Olden Avenue, a few blocks from the congressman’s house.