NJ-07

U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, will be in two of New Jersey’s most competitive congressional districts tomorrow.

Van Hollen will make an appearance with congressional candidate Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) in the morning, and move up to the 5th District to campaign with candidate Dennis Shulman in the afternoon.

Joining Van Hollen for Shulman will be U.S. Reps. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn), Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) and Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch).  The rally will take place at IBEW Local 164's Paramus headquarters. 

Shulman, whose race has long been watched by the DCCC, was recently bumped up to its top tier classification of candidates. There are few indications about which way that district is going, but those that do exist show it tightening.

The Star-Ledger today endorsed state Sen. Leonard Lance over Assemblywoman Linda Stender for Congress in the 7th District.

The largest newspaper in the state called Lance (R-Flemington) a “moderate Republican in the Clifford Case mold,” and lauded his environmental record and his “bone-deep distaste for debt.”

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Linda Stender’s campaign chastised a Star-Ledger columnist for writing that a piece of campaign literature from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee came from her own campaign.

At issue is conservative columnist Paul Mulshine’s most recent piece, which was circulated by Stender rival Leonard Lance’s campaign via press release this morning. The campaign literature Mulshine referred to claimed that Lance was in cahoots with former Gov. Christie Whitman on pension bonding in 1997.

Lance was actually one of the most vocal critics of pension bonding, and has made that a centerpiece of his current congressional run.

Mulshine called the mailer “the single sleaziest campaign ad I have ever seen.”

State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington), who’s running against Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) in the 7th Congressional District, has $258,032 on hand to Stender’s $602,275.

That’s a significant improvement over last quarter, which Lance, bruised from a primary fight, had only $80,000 on hand. He raised $522,941 between July 1st and September 30th, while Stender raised $622,285.

In the 7th Congressional District, each major campaign has different poll results.

A Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee poll released today shows Democrat Linda Stender with a nine point lead over Republican Leonard Lance, 40% to 31% with independent Bridgewater Councilman Michael Hsing, a former Republican, getting 8% and 18% of voters undecided. That poll’s margin of error is 4.9%.

“With Leonard Lance’s support for President Bush’s failed economic agenda, and his support for denying women access to birth control, Lance has made a commitment to the status quo in this change election year,” said DCCC spokeswoman Carrie James in a statment. “This poll shows Lance’s pro-George Bush strategy is failing.”

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.

Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney will both be making fundraising appearances in New Jersey this week, according to a report in the Star-Ledger.

Clinton will be here today to raise money for Assemblywoman Linda Stender’s (D-Fanwood) congressional bid, while Romney is coming sometime later this week to help her opponent, state Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington) with his campaign, according to a report in the Star-Ledger.

The report does not say whether Clinton or Romney will make any public campaign stops for the candidates.

In July, 2005, Acting Gov. Dick Codey appointed Assemblywoman Linda Stender to the New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission.

Since then, the commission has held 13 meetings at Rutgers University’s Piscataway campus -- 12 miles from Stender’s hometown of Fanwood.  Stender, who’s still a member of the commission, has not attended a single one of them. 

The position is unpaid, and other board members sometimes skipped meetings as well, although few as consistently as Stender.  But her opponent for the 7^th Congressional District seat, State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington), argues that she didn’t do the job that was asked of her – especially in light of the nation’s economic crisis. 

“When elected officials commit to doing a job, they are expected to do it.  Clearly Assemblywoman Stender failed to show up and do the job asked of her,” he said.  “With our economy in crisis and unemployment rising, the work of the State Employment and Training Commission is more important that ever, so it’s extremely unfortunate that Linda Stender failed to attend a single Commission meeting.”

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In a debate held tonight at the Wilf Jewish Community Campus in Scotch Plains, 7th District Congressional candidate Linda Stender decisively showed why she is the only candidate for real change after eight years of George Bush’s disastrous economic, energy and foreign policies. Leonard Lance exposed why he will continue the Bush agenda in Washington, while Stender represents real change.