Rush Holt

On the day President George W. Bush visited a credit counseling service center in Freehold to address a national housing crisis, Democratic candidates for Congress seized the opportunity to denounce what they see as Bush’s failed economic policies.

"With about 3.5 million foreclosure filings since 2006, the Federal Reserve banks estimates that 2 million more are on the way over the next two years," said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "Meanwhile, new homes sales are at their lowest point in 13 years tumbling 40.6 percent in the Northeast alone. The President's short term foreclosure 'timeout' is a band-aid approach that does nothing to stimulate the economy or increase homeownership."

Mercer County Republicans voted to postpone the endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate tonight and will wait and see if biotech millionaire John Crowley decides to enter the race.

“We have two new candidates, one from Mercer County,” said Mercer County GOP Chairman Roy Wesley. “So it’s almost like we have one of our own who we need to give some consideration to.”

Crowley, 39, was a Bristol-Myers Squibb executive eleven years ago when he found out his 15-month-old daughter and four-month-old son had a rare and fatal neuromuscular disease. He wound up leaving to head up a series of biotech firms and has raised a reported $200 million for research of genetic diseases. Harrison Ford is expected to play Crowley in a film about his life.

In an informal vote, taken by a show of hands, Mercer Republicans overwhelmingly supported deferring a formal endorsement in the Senate race, and authorized the party’s executive committee to award the organization line sometime before the April 7 filing deadline.

State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio and Ramapo College Professor Murray Sabrin attended the convention. A third candidate, millionaire businessman Andy Unanue, is vacationing in Vail.

Republicans will have a congressional primary in the twelfth district, where two candidates are seeking the chance to challenge five-term Democrat Rush Holt. The Monmouth County GOP organization is backing Holmdel Deputy Mayor Alan Bateman, while Ron Paul’s New Jersey campaign is promoting Dan Maiullo, who says he joined the GOP last November to support Paul’s candidacy.  Maiullo says he’s running to “help perpetuate the enormous energy harnessed by the Ron Paul campaign for President,” and wants to his campaign against Holt “as a platform for communicating his principles of freedom and limited government.”

Josh Zeitz wants to become Chris Smith's 15th Democratic opponentAmong the Mercer County Democrats who gathered for Saturday's convention were three people who had fought the same fight and lost.

United States Rep. Chris Smith has been beating Democrats in the Fourth Congressional District for 27 years, but the assembled supporters had high hopes for Zeitz.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12) introduced the latest Democratic challenger as a “very accomplished scholar and really exciting candidate.”

Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, Washington Township Municipal Chairman Larry Schneider and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) lost to Smith in 1992, 1998 and 2000 respectively.

“I’m celebrating my tenth anniversary this year,” Schneider dead-panned.

Josh Zeitz appeals to Monmouth County Democrats. 

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS - After giving standing ovations to U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12) and U.S. Rep Frank Pallone (D-6) at the Shore Casino on Saturday, Monmouth County Democrats greeted their young contender in the 4th congressional district with a polite pitter-patter of hands.

Of the 4th, "I don’t know if its going to be contested or not but we do have someone here," Party Chairman Victor Scudiery said in his introduction of Zeitz, a 34-year old American History professor at Rutgers University from Bordentown who has taken a leave of absence this year to challenge the formidable U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4).

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg hobnobs with Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik at the Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands.

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS - Embracing the mantle of the greatest generation, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg asked Monmouth County Democrats to join him in the battle to restore America to the people who own it, in his words: working and middle class people.

"For the first time in eight years we can change America for the better," said Lautenberg. "We can and we must. People still want to know their children can do better than they. That’s the cradle of America."

New Jersey still has three uncommitted super delegates: U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, Rep. Rush Holt, and Democratic National Finance Committee Chairman Philip Murphy. None are expected to announce a preference in the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton today.

Uncertified results of New Jersey’s February 5 Democratic presidential primary resulted in 38 pledged delegates for Hillary Clinton and 32 for Barack ObamaThis accounts for 70 of New Jersey’s 108 pledged delegates. Clinton won 12 alternate delegates, with 6 going to Obama.

New Jersey has 14 Party Leader Elected Official delegates (aka PLEOs). Clinton will get 8 of the PLEO’s and Obama will have 6, based on Clinton’s 54%-44% win. There are an addition 23 at-large pledged delegates, with 13 going to Clinton and 10 for Obama, again based on the primary results. Each campaign will nominate two candidates for each designated delegate slot; the Democratic State Committee will pick these 14 delegates at their April 17 meeting.

Now that the New Jersey presidential primary is over, don’t bet on the last two major Democratic elected official holdouts to make an endorsement any time soon.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Rep. Rush Holt were the only two federal elected officials from the state who didn’t pick a horse in the run up to the primary. And now that the primary is over and done with here, their endorsements aren’t likely to swing any voters in other states.

But if the race betw