Josh Zeitz

U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton) has served in Congress since he upset 13-term incumbent Frank Thompson in 1980.

News last summer, just before the Democratic National Convention, that Ashley Evans, 7, and her sister Sophia, 3, have been reunited with their father after being stuck in the Republic of Georgia after the Russian Army invasion two weeks ago essentially assured the re-election of U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith to a fifteenth term.  Smith traveled to Georgia last week to meet with officials and has remained there to help facilitate the safety of the two girls, who live in Howell Township in the fourth district.

The move ended the one promising campaign of Democrat Josh Zeitz, a college professor making his first bid for public office.  Smith beat Zeitz 66%-32% in a race some say was over even before the rescue mission.  Zeitz is now serving as a top policy advisor in the office of Gov. Jon Corzine.

This week, Smith scored another success by helping David Goldman, a Monmouth County resident, hold a reunion in Brazil with his eight-year-old son after four years. Smith accompanied Goldman, who has been fighting to regain custody of his son, an American citizen, who now lives with his step-father after his mother died last year.

Gov. Jon Corzine picked Edward McBride as his new Chief of Staff to replace Lisa Jackson, who will become the new EPA Administrator.

Governor Jon Corzine today announced a series of staff changes triggered by the appointment of Lisa Jackson as the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Edward McBride was named Chief of Staff and William Castner will replace McBride as Chief Counsel.

Corzine also picked Diane Legreide, a former Casino Control Commissioner and state Motor Vehicles Director, as his new Deputy Chief of Staff.  She will replace Maggie Moran, who is expected to leave in a few weeks to run the Governor’s re-election campaign.  Albert Alvarez, who has served as Cabinet Liaison, will also serve as Deputy Chief of Staff.

Jaimee Gilmartin, the Governor’s Director of Appointments, has been promoted to Director of Operations.  She will replace Jose Lozano, who will move to the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.  Josh Zeitz, who was the Democratic candidate for Congress against U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith this year, is joining Corzine’s staff as a Senior Policy Advisor.

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.”

Fourth District Democratic Congressional candidate Josh Zeitz is challenging U.S. Rep. Chris Smith’s right to vote in his own election, and maybe even his right to be a candidate.

The Zeitz campaign today sent a letter to Mercer County Superintendent of Elections Bettye Monroe, asking that Smith’s voter registration be revoked because of his alleged Virginia residency.

At issue is controversy surrounding Smith’s daughter’s college tuition. She pays in-state tuition at a public university in Virginia, where Smith’s family resides. Zeitz says the law states that only legal Virginia residents can do that, and that parents who co-sign the application for the tuition break must have “abandoned any previous domicile.”

“We request an explanation of how Chris Smith may vote in New Jersey after having ‘abandoned’ New Jersey as a domicile. Smith's voluntary application for Virginia in-state educational benefits demonstrates his choice that Virginia, not New Jersey, is his domicile. Smith cannot be a registered voter in New Jersey and a Virginia domicile at the same time, particularly as Virginia requires that its domiciles "intend to remain indefinitely,” wrote Zeitz Campaign Manager Steve D’Amico.

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.

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.

Campaign staffers for Republican congressional candidates Leonard Lance and Chris Myers say they expect President Bush to show up for their joint fundraiser Monday, even though he's canceled fundraising appearances in Florida and Alabama to deal with the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, Democrats across the state are putting together a game plan, intent on not letting the unpopular president's private appearance go unnoticed by New Jerseyans.

A poll released today by Strategic Vision put Bush's New Jersey approval rating at 20 percent.