NJ-03

Freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) continues to raise a lot of cash, this time with his eye on defending his seat in 2010.

Adler raised $464,125 last quarter – the most of any candidate in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s 40-member “Frontline” program, which is intended to help incumbents who could be vulnerable in 2010.  He has $426,587 on hand.

Adler’s narrow win last year, for which he spent about $2.74 million, was the first time Democrats have carried his district since the 19th century, making him an obvious target of Republicans going into the next election cycle.  

The Republican National Congressional Committee is already targeting Adler with frequent press releases, and today announced that they are targeting him with robocalls pairing him with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and criticizing him for voting in favor of the stimulus package.  

State Sen. John Adler’s congressional campaign today charged that the involvement of conservative third-party group in the race proves that Republican Chris Myers is inextricably linked to the Bush Administration.

At issue is Freedom’s Watch, a right wing 501(c)(4) organization that was initially set up to bolster support for President Bush’s Iraq War policies, but has played a role in House races across the country this year. They first appeared in New Jersey in June, using robocalls to criticize Adler and fellow Democrat Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) in the 7th Congressional District over New Jersey’s gas tax, which is among the lowest in the nation.

In the 3rd District, the group has started a new round of robocalls charging that Adler supported “legislation that could give taxpayer funded healthcare to illegal aliens and taxpayers like you would pay for it.”

Republican Medford Mayor Chris Myers today charged that his rival for the 3rd District Congressional seat, State Sen. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill), tried to direct $110,000 to a for-profit health care center owned by a campaign contributor in 2005, which the Treasury Department then discussed channeling through a non-profit entity.

The Myers campaign based its charge on several documents released yesterday as part of a large document dump relating to the Property Tax Assistance and Community Development Grants Program, known to insiders as the “MAC account" both because of then-state Treasurer John McCormac and the ease with which connected legislators would withdraw funds.

One document shows that Adler requested the money for the Silvercare Center, which is owned by Marc Silver.

Silver contributed $2,000 to Adler’s 2006 State Senate campaign, $2,300 to his congressional campaign, and $2,000 to his 2005 federal Adler for Senate committee.

Silver also contributed $1,000 to retiring Rep. Jim Saxton (R-Mount Holly) -- Myers' political mentor -- in 2000.

MEDFORD -- Former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney came to this quaint little one traffic light downtown tonight to help its mayor become a Congressman.

In a short press conference just before attending a private, $1,000 per head fundraiser for Chris Myers at a private residence in Southampton, Romney, who recently founded Free & Strong America PAC, touted Myers a kindred spirit – a fellow businessman suited to carry on the legacy of retiring Rep. Jim Saxton, who was also present.

“Chris is a person who has experience in the military sector, the private sector and the public sector,” said Romney, standing in front of a gazebo in a small park. “All three areas have given him the kind of perspective which gives him a unique opportunity to help the people of this district.”

State Sen. John Adler raised about $550,000 for his 3rd District congressional race last quarter, according to a press release issued by his campaign.

That brings Adler’s total raised so far to $2.4 million, and he has $1.2 million on hand (early in the summer, Adler had $1.4 million on hand).

In the release, the Adler campaign tried to rub in their fundraising advantage in to Myers, noting that in September they received $9,000 from residents of Medford, where Myers is the mayor.

"The people who know Chris Myers best, the residents of Medford, are clearly fed up with Mayor Myers' tax-and-spend policies and are showing their displeasure by contributing their hard-earned money to John Adler,” said Adler Campaign Manager Mark Warren.

Third District Republican congressional candidate Chris Myers raised $369,224 last quarter and has $287,832 on hand, according to Campaign Manager Chris Russell.

That sum does not account for the likely large cash infusion that came from President George W. Bush’s visit to New Jersey last month to raise money for him and fellow Republican House candidate Leonard Lance. Although the fundraiser took place last quarter, the campaign did not receive its share of the proceeds until after September 30th.

Myers' total raised so far is just shy of the million dollar mark, at $995,773 – much of which he had to spend in his contentious primary against Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly.

Democratic rival John Adler’s campaign has not released their fundraising totals yet, but as of last quarter he had the largest war chest of any open seat challenger in the country, with $1.46 million on hand.

Former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney will hold a press conference with 3rd District Republican Congressional candidate Chris Myers tomorrow night.

The event will take place in downtown Medford at 5:30p.m., where Myers is the mayor. 
Romney is also holding a fundraiser for 7th District Congressional candidate Leonard Lance tomorrow.

Just before Medford Mayor Chris Myers announced that he planned to hold a press conference detailing State Sen. Adler’s receipt of money from a legislative slush fund, Adler acknowledged that he took some money from the Property Tax Assistance and Community Developments Grants program, but denied that the funds were used for pet projects or that he exerted any undue influence to get them.

“John Adler not only had no influence over the Property Tax Assistance and Community Development Fund, he did not know that two legislators had discretion over it. As he has since his election in 1991, Sen. Adler has fought for improvements in his district. These were not "pet projects" – again, the words of Chris Myers - but programs of importance to John Adler's constituents,” said Adler spokesman Mark Warren.

It is unclear for which specific projects those funds were used, and how much money Adler received.

He’s a powerful Congressman from a different state, but House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Chares Rangel (D-N.Y.) is the issue du jour in New Jersey’s two competitive House races.

Rangel helped raise a lot of money for Democrats Linda Stender and John Adler with a fundraiser and PAC donations. Now that he’s under fire for several allegedly unethical practices, cash strapped Republicans Leonard Lance and Chris Myers think their more well-off Democratic counterparts should give the Rangel-related money back.

This isn’t the first time that Republicans have raised Rangel as a campaign issue. But the recent editorial by the New York Times calling for Rangel to step down from his committee chairmanship has made it relevant once again to the Myers and Lance campaigns.

The Pindell Report, an independent analysis of state and federal races edited by Politicker.com's James W. Pindell, today upgraded the 3rd district House race from “Likely Democratic” to “Leans Democratic,” and said that the contest in the 7th district has become more competitive.

The ranking corresponds with more optimistic national prospects for Republicans, with presidential candidate John McCain surging in the two weeks since the Republican National Convention began.  In New Jersey, recent polls put McCain within three points of Barack Obama. 

“These are two longtime Republican seats.  Democrats haven't won the 3rd since 1882 and the 7th since 1956.  Republicans are getting over heated primaries, while Democrats had cleared the field for John Adler and Linda Stender,” said Pindell.  “While the Democrats have much more money, internal polls show this race to be getting a little closer.  If John McCain is getting the base behind him as polls suggest then Lance and Myers might have a shot after all.”