Scott Garrett

DENVER – The Democratic Party already knows Dennis Shulman, who’s running for Congress against Republican incumbent E. Scott Garrett, exists. 

Shulman, a blind rabbi and psychologist who’s not a delegate, is attending the Democratic National Convention.  And he said he’s been doing the same thing in Denver he’s been doing at home in Bergen County – shaking hands and trying to convince influential politicians that his district is winnable, even against an entrenched incumbent. 

Pretty much all of the New Jersey delegation in Denver knows who Shulman is, and many politicians from other states may have heard of him from news accounts in several national publications.  But convincing them that winning is a realistic prospect is another matter.

Read More >

The Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) seems confident that Democrats will pick up two House seats in New Jersey this year, but stopped short of promising financial help to Dennis Shulman, a blind Rabbi who is challenging Rep. Scott Garrett in the 5th district.

"The closer we got to Election Day the more opportunities developed. Sometimes as you get closer some fall off the list. The last time we went through this in 2006, the closer we got to voting day the more competitive," said Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D-Md.) in a conference call with reporters today.

The DCCC's third priority in New Jersey is Shulman, who has raised a lot of money for a challenger in a long-shot district, and whose unique personal story has recently drawn national media attention from publications like Time, Newsweek and The New Yorker.

"The short answer is that we're very impressed with what they've done and we see that campaign on an upward trajectory," he said. Read More >

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton) isn’t taking his bid for a 15th term for granted, raising $143,300 over the last three months and now has $503,944 cash on hand.  His Democratic challenger, history professor Josh Zeitz, raised $108,101 during the same period.  Zeitz has raised $259,267 so far and has $124,535 in the bank.

Statewide, Zeitz ranks second in challenger fundraising.  Dennis Shulman, a blind Rabbi and psychologist running against Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) raised $270,000 last quarter, according to his campaign.  He has raised $585,000 so far, with $258,000 cash on hand.

Most New Jersey challengers are faring poorly in the fundraising game.

Read More >

As today marks the filing deadline for FEC reports, PolitickerNJ.com has reported totals as the numbers have become available. Below are links to our complete coverage, broken down by races.

Read More >

Dennis Shulman, a blind Rabbi and psychologist challenging Rep. Scott Garrett in the fifth district, has raised $585,000 and has $258,000 remaining in his warchest – more  than $100K more than Christopher Myers, the GOP congressional candidate in the third district.  Myers, who faces Democrat John Adler for the seat of retiring Rep. Jim Saxton,has raised $626,549 and has $155,406 cash on hand.  Shulman and Myers each won contested primaries.

Read More >

Fifth District Democratic Challenger Dennis Shulman and incumbent Rep. E. Scott Garrett raised close to the same amount of money last fundraising quarter, though Garrett retains a significant cash advantage.

Shulman raised $270,000 last quarter, according to his campaign, bringing his total raised so far to about $585,000, with $258,000 cash on hand after a primary against attorney Camille Abate.

“We’re excited that grassroots energy for Dennis’s campaign is translating into the resources that we need to get the message out in November,” said Shulman Campaign Manager Jeff Hauser.

Read More >

A campaign consultant for Rep. E. Scott Garrett (R-05) called out Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman for hypocrisy today regarding the influence of lobbyists in his campaign.

A week after Shulman’s campaign criticized Garrett for hiring a new chief of staff who used to lobby for mortgage giant Countrywide Financial, Garrett consultant Matt Leonardo sent out a blistering email pointing out that Shulman Campaign Manager Jeff Hauser was a lobbyist for the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) last year.

“It appears Dennis Shulman and Jeff Hauser have egg on their faces,” said Leonardo.

Read More >

U.S. Rep. E. Scott Garrett has won a 2008 Thomas Jefferson Award from the International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA). 

The award, according to the group, is presented to legislators who “demonstrate their commitment to increasing opportunity and reducing government regulation through their votes on issues such as reducing taxes, workplace regulations, and other economic matters.”

Read More >

U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett’s (R-05) campaign, up to this point, has portrayed the challenge by Democrat Dennis Shulman as more of the same – another hapless Democrat venturing into solidly Republican territory where voters are happy with an incumbent well respected for his steadfast conservative principles. But a three-page fundraising letter Garrett sent out earlier this month acknowledges that he will face a tougher race this time around.

“This election will not be like past elections,” wrote Garrett. “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has its eye on New Jersey… Last month they placed me on their target list, and just yesterday they upgraded my opponent to "Emerging Race" category. That means they will be pouring money and resources into spreading their leftist propaganda to as many voters in my district as they can between now and Election Day. And incredibly, the DCCC has more than seven times the bank account of our Republican counterpart!”

Read More >

U.S. Rep Scott Garrett (R-Wantage)A staunch opponent of mortgage company regulation and bailing out distressed borrowers, U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) has a new chief of staff with ties to the troubled mortgage industry.

Amy Smith, who was hired as Garrett's chief-of-staff in March, spent two years as a lobbyist for the boutique firm Bartlett, Bendall and Kadesh, LLC, during which time she helped lobby for Countrywide Financial, the mortgage giant that has borne part of the blame for the subprime crisis, along with several other clients.

That, according to the campaign of 5th District Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman, represents a "revolving door culture in Washington."

Read More >