AP Calls Booker The Winner

With 18% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press has declared Newark Mayor Cory Booker the Democratic nominee to replace the late Senator Frank Lautenberg in Washington.

As of 8:52PM,. Booker has 33,296 votes to Congressman Frank Pallone’s 15,424.  Congressman Rush Holt has 8,060 votes and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver 2,744.

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Down to the wire, Pallone not letting up

Congressman Frank Pallone is working this election to the very last minute.  At 7PM he sent out an email reminding supporters that they still have an hour to vote and offering rides to the polls.

Pallone ran the “Chevy” ad on News 12 shortly before 7. The polls close at 8.

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Live Election Coverage From NJTV

Watch NJTV’s live primary election coverage here at 6, 8:56, 9:56 and 11 tonight.

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A map that favors Pallone?

 The Special Senate Primaries are today.

Turnout is always low in primaries, normally held on the first Tuesday in June.  In the last competitive Democratic Senate primary, 2008 when Congressman Rob Andrews challenged incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg because he was too old, approximately 325,000 New Jersey Democrats voted.  About 159,000 Republicans voted in the 2008 Senate primary between former Congressman Richard Zimmer and State Senator Joseph Pennacchio.

Voter turnout was always expected to be low for today’s primaries being held on the second Tuesday in August.   The polls indicate that Newark Mayor Cory Booker will easily win the Democratic primary and that former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan is essentially unopposed in the Republican primary. But no one has a historical model by which to predict voter turnout on the second Tuesday in August.

That’s why Congressman Frank Pallone has been running hard like he doesn’t believe, or care about the polls.  Pallone told MSNBC last week that the turnout will be very low, that the polls don’t mean very much at this point, and that he has a strong field operation to get his supporters to the polls.

In the last day of the primary campaign, Booker had Eva Longoria on his bus, Congressman Rush Holt went on The Colbert Report, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver picked up the last minute endorsement of the Woman Political Caucus of NJ, and Pallone rented a fleet of vans to take voters to the polls.

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Eck Clarifies Her Position On Abortion, Says She Can’t Imagine Lonegan Getting Elected, Will Run For Senate In 2014

At Steve Lonegan’s press conference on Saturday, the front runner in tomorrow’s GOP primary to replace the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg said that his opponent, Dr. Alieta Eck, first presented herself the party as pro-life but recently announced she was pro-abortion.  Lonegan said Eck should leave the Republican party.

The confusion arose out of comments Eck made during a meeting of the Long Hill Republicans last week wherein she said that there was no practical way for the government to prevent abortions during the early stages of pregnancy.

MMM wanted to clear up the confusion and understand Eck’s position.  She granted Art Gallagher an interview yesterday at her free health clinic in Somerset.

Eck said she is unabashedly pro-life. We spoke about her work with the poor, her experiences campaigning for Senate, and her political future.

Eck said she can’t imagine that Lonegan will be elected in the  October 16 Special Senate Election, if he defeats her, as the polls indicate he will tomorrow.  She said she will be a candidate for U.S. Senate again next year should the Democratic nominee selected tomorrow be elected.  She wouldn’t rule out another primary against Lonegan, even if Lonegan is elected in October.

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Christie Says Lonegan Tweet Was Inappropriate

Governor Chris Christie said this afternoon that the controversial tweet sent out by a Lonegan for Senate staffer last week during the Democratic Senatorial Debate was inappropriate, and the fact that Lonegan immediately ordered the tweet taken down indicates that Lonegan knows it was inappropriate, despite his protestations since.

“Why take it down if there was nothing wrong with it?” Christie said.

Christie said the would have fired the staffer who posted the tweet, “but its Steve’s campaign. He has a different management style.”

The Governor said he would endorse the winner of tomorrow’s Republican primary to replace the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg.

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Lonegan: Bayshore Tea Party Doesn’t Support Me Because I Didn’t Support LD 13 Primary

Steven Lonegan and Bayshore Tea Party Group Founders Barbara Gonzalez and Bob Gordan, 2010. facebook photo.

Prior to the start of yesterday’s press conference in Kinnelon, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan told MMM that the Bayshore Tea Party Group is not supporting his U.S. Senate candidacy because he did not support their effort to remove State Senator Joe Kyrillos, Assemblywoman Amy Handlin and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon from office in the 13th Legislative District primary last June.

When told that BTPG said he encouraged them to mount a primary challenge, Lonegan said, “I encourage everybody to run, but you have to have good candidates. Not like them.”

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Lonegan Takes The Offensive

“I have a handicap, you know.   I’m a white guy, running in the State of New Jersey.  That’s my handicap. “

“I took down an inappropriate, silly tweet after 20 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes.  5 months later, Anti-Semitic, hate filled videos are still posted on Cory Booker’s website. Where’s the race card now? Where’s the media now? “Where’s the liberal left now in defending us against this kind of hate filled Anti-Semitism?”

~Steve Lonegan

Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, the front runner in the August 13 Republican primary for the nomination to replace the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg,  held a press conference in Kinnelon yesterday afternoon to address the reaction to the tweet(pictured to the right) posted by his campaign on Thursday night during the Democratic Senate Debate.

Lonegan billed the event as a “press conference on political correctness” but the tweet and his opponents “pulling the race card” was the topic.  In classic Lonegan fashion, the candidate confronted the problem and flipped the criticism back on his opponents.  In this case, his opponents being Booker, who is expected to win the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, the “liberal media” and Dr. Alieta Eck, his opponent for the Republican nomination.

Lonegan said the tweet, which was removed quickly, was posted by a young staffer who remains employed by the campaign. “He made a mistake. I’m not going to ruin his career by firing him.  I don’t do that. I will help him learn from it,” Lonegan said.

“Racism, racism, racism. They can’t wait to play the racist card,” Lonegan said of the Booker campaign and the media, “They couldn’t wait for the opportunity, any opportunity at all, a silly map, which is meaningless, sent out by some kid in a campaign, that had no intent other than to ah, whatever the intent was, I don’t even know what the intent was. But they can’t wait to pull the race card. Cause that’s how they play politics.

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Racially charged tweet by Lonegan campaign draws fire from Eck, Booker

Eck says Lonegan is not a viable candidate. Says the former Bogota mayor and his team are “angry white men”

During last night’s Democratic U.S. Senate debate, a racially insensitive tweet was sent out from former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan’s campaign account, @Lonegan.

Politico captured an image of the tweet which depicted Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s foreign policy prep notes as a map of Newark with Guaya, West Africa, Portugal and Brazil noted as parts of the city and the Middle East as Afghanistan, Pakistan PLUS Bangladesh and Trinidad.

The tweet was quickly deleted and Lonegan spokesman Rich Shaftan told Politico that Lonegan did not find it funny or reflective of how he thinks.

Shaftan told The Star Ledger that the  staffer responsible had been discipline but probably would not be fired.

“It’s not Lonegan’s tweet. It’s not from his personal account,” Shaftan said. “Sometimes things happen in political campaigns. People put things out that are not reflective of what the candidate thinks.”

Shaftan declined to say who was responsible for the twet and said the individual had been disciplined but would likely not be fired.

“Everyone does stupid things,” Shaftan said. ” Steve’s not a believer in throwing people over because they make mistakes.”

Lonegan press contact Jon Meadows referred MMM to Shaftan. Shaftan did not respond to a message via facebook and said he would call back when reached on the phone.

Lonegan’s opponent in the August 13th Republican primary, Dr. Alieta Eck said the gaffe is indicative of Lonegan’s world view.  Eck said the Lonegan and his campaign staff are “angry white men.”

In a statement released by Eck Campaign Manager, Thomas Roberts, the campaign said that Lonegan’s candidacy is “unviable”

“Steve Lonegan just continues to demonstrate how uncomfortable he is addressing people other than his own acolytes,” said Eck campaign manager Thomas Roberts. “From his English language debacle in Bogota, to his refusal this week to meet with the NAACP in Newark, and finally last night’s horrifyingly racist tweet, how on earth is he supposed to ‘represent’ a state as culturally rich and diverse as New Jersey in the Senate? He is completely unviable as a candidate, and I think he owes a lot of people an apology.”

Eck told MMM that Lonegan did not reply to the Newark NAACP’s invitation to a debate earlier this week.
Booker’s campaign spokesperson said, according to the Ledger,

“The Lonegan campaign’s tweet is inappropriate, offensive and fundamentally out of step with New Jersey values. It’s also not surprising,” Booker campaign manager Addisu Demissie said. “This is the same misguided person who was offended by an advertisement simply because it was in Spanish. We need leaders who will lift up our communities, not tear them down — leaders like Cory Booker.”

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Quinnipiac Poll: “Unless the sky falls, Booker can start looking for a Washington apartment”

Former Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vic Scudiery and Newark Mayor Cory Booker

Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be New Jersey’s next U.S. Senator if the results of the Quinnipiac poll of likely voters released this morning hold true through October 16.

Booker is leading Congressman Frank Pallone by 54%-17% in the August 13 Democratic primary with Congressman Rush Holt garnering support from 15% of the respondents and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver with 5%.  65% of Democratic voters say their choice is firm.  8% are undecided.

In the Republican primary, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan leads Dr. Alieta Eck 74%-10%.

In the October 16 special election, Booker is leading Lonegan 54%-29% among registered voters.

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