Rush Holt

EDISON - Against a landscape of Middlesex County Democratic Party strife, Vice President Joe Biden this afternoon stumped for Gov. Jon Corzine, arguing the international context of the recession, which he said Republican candidate Chris Christie has tried to pin solely on Corzine.

"Jon has said he governed in tough times," said the vice president. "Let's give him the chance to govern in good times."

Deadlocked with Christie, according to most polls, Corzine's handlers want him to repeat a double-barrel message from here until Election Day two weeks from now: remind people that he acted early to blunt the impact of the recession, and that the pro-unon, pro-choice, anti-gun incumbent shares the values of most New Jersey voters. 

Biden was here to amplify that two-pronged argument.

"Isn't it great we have Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the White House?" Corzine asked the crowd. "Their values are our values, right?"

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Fair Haven Mayor Michael Halfacre bashed U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell) for being one of 75 Congressmen to continue support of federal funding for ACORN after staffers for the community organizing group were caught on camera coaching individuals posing as a prostitute and her pimp on how to evade taxes and hide cash.

Halfacre is seeking the Republican nomination to run against Holt next year.

"One again, Rush Holt has shown how out of touch he is with the people of the 12th Congressional District and that his attempts to portray himself as a moderate are just that- a portrayal", said Halfacre. "He was to the left of even his own party on cap and trade; he is to the left of his own party on healthcare reform and now, when 70% of his own party voted against giving any more funding to this controversial group, once again, Rush Holt stood with the far left of his party to continue funding them with taxpayer money. We seem to have a representative who thinks he represents San Francisco and not central New Jersey."

Holt was one of five New Jersey Democrats to vote against the resolution to withdraw federal funding to ACORN.  U.S. Reps. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill), Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) and Steven Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) voted with the Republicans.

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New Jersey's congressional delegation voted 8-5 along party lines in support of a House resolution voicing disapproval of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who shouted "You lie!" during President Barack Obama's address to a joint session of Congress last week.  Democrats John Adler, Rob Andrews, Rush Holt, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell, Donald Payne, Steven Rothman, and Albio Sires voted yes.  Republicans Rodney Frelinghuysen, Scott Garrett, Leonard Lance, Frank LoBiondo and Christopher Smith voted no.  The resolution passed 240-17.  Seven Republicans voted yes and twelve Democrats voted no.

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A general election candidate in the 12th Congressional district last year, Alan Bateman, a former deputy mayor of Holmdel, notified voters this week that he intends to pursue a 4th Congressional District 2010 primary challenge of U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton), whom Bateman believes has strayed from core GOP principles.

"I am running for U.S. Congress against current incumbent Chris Smith," writes Bateman in a request for financial support printed on "Bateman for Congress" letterhead.

"Chris Smith has been in Washington for 30 long years - that's right - 30 years! He is a Washington insider who is out of touch with the people," adds Bateman, a fierce ally of former gubernatorial candidate and movement conservative leader Steve Lonegan of Bogota. 

"...Chris Smith was one of eight Republicans who voted for cap and trade," says the self-described conservative. "His vote confirmed what most of us have known all along... Chris Smith is way too liberal for this district, drawn to be a safe Republican seat."

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As part of the cap and trade vote fallout, last year's 12th Congressional District general election challenger could be next year's 4th District GOP primary challenger.

Holmdel businessman Alan Bateman is now mulling a 2010 run against veteran U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton), he told PolitickerNJ.com.

"He's done great work on the pro-life issue, but being pro-life doesn't make you a conservative," said Bateman, an ally of movement conservative Steve Lonegan who in last year's general election lost by double digits to U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell Twp.).

Bateman's biggest beef is cap and trade, which Smith supported with an "aye" vote earlier this summer.

"Let's let the free market do its job," said the prospective challenger, the former deputy mayor of Holmdel whose home has been on the market for six months, who says he wants to move into the 4th Congressional District.

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TRENTON - Fair Haven Mayor and private practice attorney Mike Halfacre figures he will probably need between $500,000 and $1 million to run an effective campaign against U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell Twp.) in this major media market called the 12th Congressional District, and hhe sees postive signs early in his effort to muster support.

"As I stand here today I've raised $35,000," said Halfacre, 42, standing on the State House steps at the second of two press conferences he held today to formally launch his bid for U.S. Congress, where he savaged the sitting congressman.

In an unsuccessful 2008 bid against Holt, Halfacre's Republican predecessor, Alan Bateman, raised as much over the entire course of his campaign, which landed him an ovr 20% loss.

Bateman told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday that he intends to again seek the Republican nomination in the 12th District but as he nurses $6,000 in debt from last year, Halfacre and his allies say at a certain point the former deputy mayor of Holmdel "has to stop tilting at windmills."

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It looks like a GOP primary in the 12th Congressional District. 

Republican Alan Bateman of Holmdel, who ran for Congress in the 12th last year and lost, said Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre's decision to pursue the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell) alters nothing.

"I did plan on running and I filed my papers a couple of months ago," said Bateman, a former deputy mayor in Holmdel and hospital administration consultant who lost to Holt last year, 62% to 36%.  

"This doesn't change my plans, not at all," added Bateman of Halfacre's announcement, scheduled tomorrow, that he intends to run.

Bateman said today's news about Halfacre created a surge of telephone calls from supporters, who told the Holmdel resident that he can count on them. 

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Fair Haven Mayor Michael Halfacre will hold two press conferences tomorrow to announce his decision to challenge U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell).  

“In his 10 years in Congress, Rush Holt has been ineffective on matters big and small throughout the 12th Congressional District and has compiled a voting record which is not representative of the district he represents," Halfacre said in a statement. “At a time when Americans of all political stripes are growing increasingly concerned about record federal spending and ever expanding government involvement in the private sector, I believe my record as a tax cutting fiscal conservative will be an attractive alternative.”

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Fair Haven Mayor Michael Halfacre is expected to enter the race for the Republican nomination for Congress in New Jersey's 12th district.  He wants toun against six-term U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell). 

Holt, 60, was elected to Congress in 1998 in a 51%-48% upset victory that took advantage of incumbent Michael Pappas' weaknesses.  He defied pundits two years later by holding the seat against former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, winning by just 651 votes.  Boosted by some adjustments to his district after the 2000 Census, Holt won 61% against former N.J. Secretary of State DeForest "Buster" Soaries in 2002, 59% against GOP activist Bill Spadea in 2004, 65% against former Helmetta Councilman Joseph Sinagra in 2006, and 62% against Holmdel Deputy Mayor Alan Bateman in 2008.

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U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell) will face an opponent in the 2010 Democratic primary: Lawrenceville resident Scott Baier, a 28-year-old former Mercer County Republican Committeeman who was a Socialist Party candidate for State Assembly in 2005. His platform includes putting George W. Bush, Richard Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld on trial for war crimes, abolishing the U.S. Department of Defense, the nationalization of the media, legalization of all drugs, a constitutional amendment banning all guns, and a "total ban" on pornography.

Attendance is also a big issue for Baier: "I pledge to you that I'll work hard and be present for every vote that I can make it to and hope it'll be every vote.  I'm nowhere near perfect, but I'll try to be present for every House vote."

Baier has endorsed former Glen Ridge Mayor Carl Bergmanson for the Democratic nomination for Governor, and says he's backing U.S. Senator Roland Burris in the 2010 Illinois Senate race.
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