Scott Garrett

The question seems to come up every two years: is incumbent 5th District Rep. E. Scott Garrett vulnerable to a Democratic challenge? 

This year is no exception.

Challengers during Garrett’s first three campaigns thought they had a good shot, but he managed to beat them by double digit margins each time – even if those margins have narrowed each time.

But both of the Democrats vying to take him on say that this time is different, and both have released internal polls that they say proves it. 

The frontrunner in the Democratic race, blind rabbi/psychologist Dennis Shulman, reported today that he has raised $125,000 last quarter and has $245,500 cash-on-hand.  That's a slowdown from his previous quarter of fundraising, but Shulman is ahead of any of Garrett's previous Democratic challengers: Paul Stuart Aronsohn, Dorothea Wolfe or Anne Sumers. 

TRENTON - As Democrats gear up for a bruising senate primary season, unofficial congressional filing results with the state Division of Elections show no same-party challengers to incumbent Democratic congressmen.      

Only in the 1st District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews is vacating his seat to challenge U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg in the primary, are there several hopefuls battling for what Andrews leaves behind.

Another Democrat wants to challenge Republican incumbent E. Scott Garrett in the fifth Congressional district. 

Sort of. 

Roger Bacon, who said that he's actually a registered Republican, has filed to run as a Democrat against Rabbi/psychologist Dennis Shulman and lawyer Camille Abate.  

Bacon, who is running under the slogan “Independent Democrat for Lower Energy Cost,” lives in Phillipsburg and runs a customized ceramic gift mug business called Luvmug.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting Republican Congressman Scott Garrett on the issue of middle class tax cuts.

“Representative Garrett opposed tax cuts for middle class families by voting against a fiscally responsible budget. As hardworking Americans are squeezed more every month, Representative Garrett values loyalty to President Bush’s failed economic policies that got us into this mess more than tax cuts for middle-class families,” said DCCC press secretary Doug Thornell.

United States Senate candidate Murray Sabrin still plans to field an alternate slate of Republicans to every candidate in the June primary – except one.

Sabrin announced today that he won’t field a challenger to fifth district Republican Rep. E. Scott Garrett, since he adheres to the five Republican principles outlined in Sabrin’s "Constitutional Republicans protecting the Liberty Platform.” 

Endorsements of Dennis Shulman’s campaign for Congress by Assemblywoman Connie Wagner and Freeholder James Carroll  is a signal that the blind Rabbi/psychologist is headed toward an endorsement by the Bergen County Democratic Organization.  Wagner and Carroll are close to the party leadership and are not likely to go off on their own to endorse a candidate in the fifth district race.  Shulman has raised nearly $200,000 for his challenge to three-term incumbent Scott Garrett.

Paul Stuart Aronsohn, the Rotarian-American who ran for Congress against Scott Garrett in 2006, will endorse Dennis Shulman for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the fifth district. Shulman, a Rabbi and psychologist who has been blind since childhood, has raised nearly $190,000 since entering the race last fall.

Just a few end-of-the day observations:

What would Frank Hague have thought of a Mayor of Jersey City (who is also the Hudson County Democratic Chairman) who could not deliver most of the key Hudson party leadership and elected officials to his candidate for President?  And could the gullible Brad Abelow be the only one who believes Bob Menendez is no longer involved in Hudson County politics?

An impressive list of finance committee members, led by Lewis Eisenberg, has raised just $100,000 for Anne Evans Estabrook’s bid for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination; that’s about half what Dennis Shulman, the blind Rabbi/Psychologist, has raised for his fledgling congressional campaign against Scott Garrett.  Luckily for Estabrook, she put $1.6 million of her own money into the race.  Estabrook still won’t say how much she’ll invest to unseat Frank Lautenberg.

Dennis ShulmanFor a candidate in a congressional race that most political observers consider a long shot, Dennis Shulman, who hopes to be the Democrats’ chosen candidate to against Republican U.S. Rep. E. Scott Garrett, has raised a significant amount of money.

Although the blind rabbi/psychologist's campaign won’t release fundraising totals until Monday, sources say that Shulman raised approximately $140,000 last quarter, bringing his amount raised so far up to about $190,000. It’s unclear how much of that will be cash on hand.

Shulman would not confirm or deny raising the sum.

"I have been overwhelmed and humbled by the enthusiasm for change here in New Jersey," he said in a statement. "Our campaign is still fresh, but we are committed to bringing this district the kind of sensible leadership that the people are thirsting for."

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.