FDU Poll: Christie Is Immune From Anger At Washington Republicans, But Other NJ Republicans Are Not

We’ll find out tomorrow night if Governor Chris Christie’s 11th push for coattails is working, but an FDU Public Mind Poll released this morning indicates that the Republican brand has been damaged by the antics of Congressional Republicans and that Christie’s personal popularity is not enough to overcome New Jersey’s Democratic tilt.

FDU surveyed 1206 registered voters last week on how they feel about the job Christie is doing in New Jersey, President Obama’s handling of the federal budget negotiations and  Congressional Democrats and Republicans handling of the federal budget negotiations.

As has consistently been the case over the last year, Christie’s approval numbers are very strong. The governor’s approval rating is positive 61%-24%.  Obama’s handling of the federal budget is disapproved of by 52% of NJ voters and approved by only 38%. Congressional Democrats got a negative rating from 57% with only 32% approving.  75% disapprove of how Congressional Republicans have handled the federal budget, including 79% of Independents and 58% of Republican voters.  Only 14% of NJ voters, 33% of Republicans, approve of the job Congressional Republicans are doing on the budget.

FDU altered the order of their questions before asking participants their partisan identification.   Those who were asked about Congressional Republicans immediately before being asked their party ID, were less likely to say they are Republican or that they would vote Republican.

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Pallone: “ObamaCare “is Working”

By Matt Rooney, SaveJersey.com

Did you miss this last week, Save Jerseyans?

After Frank “Monkey Court” Pallone (D-NJ06) embarrassed himself twice on video in recent weeks, Cory Booker’s vanquished primary opponent came back to television for more punishment, this time at the hands of none other than… Piers Morgan?

Seeing is believing:

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Sick of election season? Here are 7 political stories you’ll want to follow after Tuesday

Sick of election season? Here are 7 political stories you’ll want to follow after Tuesday (via NJ.com)

Are you a political junkie weary of campaign season and tired of the barrage of television ads that have assaulted you during your favorite television shows? Ready for it all to be done? Well for those of you who’ve had enough but are not yet ready…

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Christie: “I don’t want to serve another day with a Democratic Legislature”

photo credit: Rhoda Chodosh. Click on photo for larger view. Sen Joe Kyrillos is NOT wearing mouse ears.

He’s finally saying it.

Yesterday afternoon at Bachstadt’s Tavern in North Middletown Governor Chris Christie urged the enthusiastic crowd of several hundred to “vote Republican from the top of the ballot to the bottom. I don’t want to serve another day with a Democratic legislature.”

“He finally said it,” I quipped to Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, JR who was present at the rally along with Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnik.  “He’s been saying it everywhere,” Kean replied.

SaveJersey reports that Christie made a similar appeal in South Jersey’s 2nd legislative district.

“I need Frank Balles in Trenton,” Christie told supporters as he worked the enthusiastic crowd. This trip constituted his second and final announced foray into Southern New Jersey before Election Day. The Governor also had a few harsh words for Balles’s opponent, incumbent state Sen. Jim Whelan, whom Christie rebranded “Grandfather Whelan” and an “animal” simultaneously, implying that the veteran Democrat behaves different back in his district than he does in Trenton.

And PolitickerNJ reports that the Governor declared that the GOP can “turn this blue state red” in Bergen County on Friday.

“We’re driving home for the biggest margin we can get,” Christie said. “We want  to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn this blue  state red.”

The GOP needs to win five seats in the Senate and nine seats in the Assembly in order to take control of both chambers.

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Meet Tom Arnone

By Nicole Sanders, SaveJersey.com

As part of my ongoing effort to introduce candidates to the voting public, Save Jerseyans, I started a weekly column called Meet the Candidates. In essence, it is a past day stump speech updated for the virtual world.

We are now entering the final stretch of this campaign cycle with only a few days left before Election Day 2013. At Save Jersey, we are dedicated to keep you, the voter, informed and that is why I am pleased to introduce you to Monmouth County Freeholder Thomas Arnone.

Freeholder Director Tom Arone

Freeholder Arnone graduated Neptune High School and then went on to attend Brookdale Community College. Since the early 1980’s, he has owned T. Arnone’s Landscaping and he’s currently the Vice President of Property Management at PRC Group in West Long Branch. His prior political experience includes serving as a Neptune City council member from 1997-2003 and then as the mayor from 2004 through 2010. He was elected to the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 2011 and continues to hold that position to this day.

My interview with Freeholder Thomas Arnone is below the fold…

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The Auditor: Booker gets prime office space, Belmar Republicans go after Christie and more

The Auditor: Booker gets prime office space, Belmar Republicans go after Christie and more (via NJ.com)

Getting into the U.S. Senate at an unusual time has its perks. After Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) was sworn in on Thursday, he didn’t get the usual rookie hazing: the worst office space available. Instead, the former Newark mayor nabbed Office 141 in…

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Chilangos owner featured in Christie Ad

Leo Cervantes, owner, of the Highlands Mexican restaurant, Chilangos, is featured in a Christie for Governor ad that was released yesterday.

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Super (Bowl) Grant For Youth Recreational Facilities

Highlands Mayor Frank Nolan, Jets owner Woody Johnson, and Douglas Eagles, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County.

The NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced yesterday that they are awarding $1.5 million to New Jersey youth serving agencies for repairs to recreational facilities and equipment that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

The announcement took place at the headquarters of the Puerto Rican Association for Human Development in Perth Amboy, in a play room that has recently been renovated with the first $100 thousand distributed of the $1.5 million dollar grant.

The funds are being distributed through the NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation, the newly formed non-profit arm of the Super Bowl Host Committee.  The mission of the NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation is to transform after-school facilities for youth in New Jersey and the New York metro area.  They are focused on assisting these locations that provide school-age boys and girls with safe and supervised recreational, educational, and character-building activities.

Jets owner Woody Johnson, Co-Chair of the Super Bowl Host Committee and great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson, was on hand for the announcement, as were Al Kelly, President and CEO of the Host Committee, John Lumpkin, MD, Directo r of the Health Care Group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, State Senator Joseph Vitale, Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz and Highlands Mayor Frank Nolan

The Monmouth County communities of Belmar, Highlands and Manasquan will be beneficiaries of the grant.  In Belmar and Masasquan, outdoor recreational facilities of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County will be refurbished.  In Highlands, the indoor building and the playground of the Robert D. Wilson Memorial Community Center will be renovated.

Elsewhere in New Jersey, youth recreational facilities in Seaside Heights, Moonachie, Rahway, Toms River and Hackensack are slated to receive financial support.

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Rudy Giuliani calls Chris Christie ‘a great leader’ during stop in Rutherford

Rudy Giuliani calls Chris Christie ‘a great leader’ during stop in Rutherford (via NJ.com)

RUTHERFORD —  Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani called Gov. Chris Christie “a great leader” and “one of the best governors in the United States” as he joined his fellow Republican on the campaign trail in New Jersey today. “I think…

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Anna Little Announces That She’s Running Against Pallone in 2014

Anna Little wants round three against Frank Pallone.

In an email this morning to past and present supporters, the 2010 and 2012 GOP nominee for New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District seat in the House of Representatives, Little sang a familiar refrain:

I’m Anna Little and I want to work for YOU in Washington

Little said,

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