Michael Ferguson

Two days after Republican Congressman Michael Ferguson said he would give the $1,000 contribution he received from Duke Cunningham to a local charity, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is calling on Fergsuon to return the money. Cunningham, a GOP Congressman from California, admitted to taking over $2 million in bribes from defense contractors. The DCCC is a little late in their rhetoric: local Democratic activists looking to oust Ferguson beat them to the bunch a few days ago. The DCCC has also called on Republican Congressmen to return campaign contributions from indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, but has not issued similar statements concerning Democratic Congressmen who took donations from jailed developer/filmmaker Charles Kushner.

One of the top twenty golfers in Washington, and the fourth best in the U.S. Congress, is New Jersey's Michael Ferguson, according to Golf Digest magazine: "The nation's capital has an abundance of powerful people who play golf, and some of them are pretty good. We searched the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court and the White House. We even looked into handicaps of the top lobbyists in Washington. Here are the 200 best." MORE

Entering the race for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the seventh district is former Hillsborough Mayor Joseph Tricarico, who serves in the Codey administration as the Assistant Commissioner of Health and Senior Services. Assemblywoman Linda Stender is also considering a challenge to the three-term incumbent, Republican Michael Ferguson. Democrats continue to be anxious to mount a tough race against Ferguson, who easily defeated quality challengers in 2002 (former state Human Services Commissioner Timothy Carden) and 2004 (Steve Brozak, a Wall Streeter and Marine Lt. Colonel who served in Iraq). Two popular blogs advocating Ferguson's defeat are dumpmike.com and blue7th.com.