NJ-03

The two New Jersey House seats most clearly in play next year are the two that have been held by the Republicans for the longest period of time: Democrats have not won the seat now held by Jim Saxton for 126 years, and Mike Ferguson’s district has not elected a Democrat since 1954.

Hours before the end of a contentious primary, Congressional District 3 Republican candidate Jack Kelly told PolitickerNJ.com, "of course I have a shot at winning" but stressed that he knew it was "in the voters' hands."

Kelly said that the winner of the campaign will be the one "who does better within their base."

He said, "Who can bring more of their supporters to the polls - that's who will win."

MOUNT HOLLY - The Chris Myers campaign has gone high-tech with their last-day canvassing efforts in the Congressional District 3 Republican primary against Jack Kelly. According to Chris Russell, Myers campaign manager, the Mount Holly headquarters is equipped with the same technology used to streamline voter contacts during last year's county and district elections.

Russell told PolitickerNJ.com that "it worked very well for us, so the Myers campaign decided to come back and use it here for this primary."

Chris Myers casts his vote in the Republican primary in Congressional District 3: Politicker PhotoMEDFORD - Before stepping into the voting booth at Cranberry Pines Elementary School, Chris Myers jokingly told volunteers that his decision would be tough. The Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District is running an incredibly close race against Jack Kelly.

After voting, Myers told PolitickerNJ.com, "The voters will decide. We feel good. I think we've run a good campaign. We've stuck to some key issues on the economy and others and I think we're ready to go here."

Asked if he would endorse Kelly if he lost, Myers said, "We'll come together as Republicans at the end of the day."

He added, "What we can all agree on is John Adler is not the right person to be the Congressman in this district."

At a filling station in Mount Laurel where a gallon of regular gas cost $3.89, 3rd District Congressional candidate state Sen. John Adler stood with House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) to address rising energy costs.

It was type of retail campaign stop Adler has been privileged to engage in so far. While he's unopposed by any Democrats in a primary, he's sitting on a $1.1 million war chest while three Republican rivals with a fraction of his funds slug it out in a primary.

Either Justin Murphy thinks the name Bret Schundler is magic, or he’s got nothing else: the former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor announced that the former Mayor of Jersey City and 2001 gubernatorial candidate endorsed his bid for the GOP nomination for Congress in the third district – for the second time.  Schundler first endorsed Murphy on January 28.

In response to today Myers' campaign press release, Kelly consultant David Murray said.

As 3rd Congressional District Republican congressional candidates Jack Kelly and Chris Myers hurl accusations of patronage and pay-to-play at each other, unopposed Democrat John Adler has been practicing uncontroversial retail politics: going door-to-door, standing with a veterans group and accepting an environmental endorsement.

While a crowded field of Republican candidates fights tooth and nail for that party's nomination in the 7th Congressional District - with the two highest profile candidates spending a good amount of time arguing over negative advertising - unopposed Democrat Linda Stender has been shoring up support at local Democratic events.

Both Democrats are running for open congressional seats that have been in Republican hands for years. During this particularly eventful Republican primary season, Adler and Stender have been able to sit on growing piles of cash as their GOP counterparts conduct opposition research that the Democrats could be able to use in the run up to the November general election - especially in the 3rd District.

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.

TRENTON - Three Republican state legislators stepped into the heated primary contest in the 3rd Congressional District between fellow Republicans Chris Myers and Jack Kelly.

The 8th Legislative District's contingent stood with Myers to announce that, at his request, they were drafting a bill that would ban employees of two or more taxpayer funded jobs from accepting cash payments in lieu of health coverage if one of the jobs already provides health insurance - a practice Myers referred to as "health care double dipping."

The proposal comes just days after a campaign attack Myers made on Kelly on the same topic.