The two candidates competing for the Republican nomination to complete the late U. S. Senator Frank Lautenberg’s term favor same sex marriage being legal.
Reacting to the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan said,
“Today’s decision is the unfortunate result of an activist, liberal court that has little respect for the Constitution and our nation’s founding principles. While I believe government should not be in the business of marriage, it is not the Supreme Court’s responsibility to make that decision. Laws should be made by legislatures, not by unelected judges. To do so is a usurpation of our democratic tradition at the heart of this country’s founding.”
I wonder if Lonegan would have called the decision “unfortunate” if the Court ruled that the government should not be in the business of marriage.
UPDATE A few readers have mentioned that Lonegan’s statement does not make it clear that he favors marriage equality. Here it is: While I believe government should not be in the business of marriage ….
If government doesn’t regulate marriage and who can get married, than same sex couples can be married.
Dr. Alieta Eck said,
“While I personally believe that traditional marriage is an important institution to defend, the Supreme Court was correct in rejecting a federal attempt to define it. Marriage is a religious institution. There was a time when the general consensus agreed with organized religion, but those times have passed. We must never abandon the Constitution in guarding equal protection and free association under the law.”
The four candidates competing for the Democratic Senate nomination, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Congressman Frank Pallone, Congressman Rush Holt and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver also support marriage equality.
The Democratic and Republican nominations for Senate will be decided in special primaries to be held on August 13. The new senator will be elected in a special election to be held on October 16.
Congressman Frank Pallone has the weakest support of the four candidates vying the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, according to a Kean University poll released yesterday, three weeks into the ten week campaign for the nod.
Of the 366 likely Democratic voters Kean surveyed, only 6% say they will vote for Pallone of August 13. 49% say they favor Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Congressman Rush Holt and State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver each are supported by 9%. 5% favor an other candidate and 22% are unsure.
In a June 10 Quinnipiac poll that did not include Oliver, Pallone came in last with 9% to Booker’s 53% and Holt’s 10%.
Pallone had $3.7 million in campaign cash as of his March filing with the Federal Election Commission. Booker had $1.6 million and Holt had $797 thousand.
Steve Lonegan is leading Dr. Alieta Eck, 45%-15% among the 321 Republican voters Kean surveyed.
Governor Christie’s approval rating is 70% and wins reelection over State Senator Barbara Buono by 30 points, according to the Kean poll.
We received an email from Frank Pallone today asking for our endorsement.
Dear Art,
I need your endorsement. The support of friends like you is what has allowed me to fight for the issues that matter most to New Jersey families. But fighting is not enough. We need true leadership in Washington that stands up for what is right. ….
Congressman, we’re honored that you asked. We’re happy to accept.
MoreMonmouthMusings hereby endorses Congressman Frank Pallone in the Democratic Special Senate Primary on August 13.
Pallone has the best of the slim chances to defeat Newark Cory Booker for the nomination.
If Pallone is the Democratic nominee in the Special Senate Election on October 16, the Republican nominee, either Steve Lonegan or Dr. Alieta Eck, would have a much better chance of winning, than if Booker is the nominee.
Booker has been endorsed by the Essex County Democratic machine and the South Jersey/George Norcross Democratic machine. If Pallone beats Booker, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo and Norcross won’t have a U.S. Senator at their beck and call. Pallone won’t owe them. He’s never been much of a team player with them. He certainly wouldn’t be beholden to them if he beats Booker.
In that case, Norcross and DiVencenzo might sit out the October 16 Special Election or secretly help the Republican nominee win, figuring that Pallone would be finished if he lost to Lonegan or Eck. They would then make sure Booker gets the 2014 Democratic nomination and count on winning the Senate seat in 2014.
Now that she survived Steve Lonegan’s challenge to her petitions, it worth getting to know the political novice who was able to get 2,285 nominating signatures in three days, Dr. Alieta Eck. That was a task that was too much for many seasoned politicians.
From the looks of how the Special Election Senate race is shaping up, Newark Mayor Cory Booker is going to win in a landslide anyway. Booker has a huge lead over Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Congressmen Frank Pallone and Rush Holt in the independent polls for the Democratic nomination. Lonegan is within striking distance of Pallone, Holt and Oliver in the Monmouth University Poll released last Friday, but loses to Booker by 16 points.
The only hope for a Republican to win the Senate seat in October is for someone other than Booker to be the Democratic nominee or for Booker to be badly wounded, politically, in a bloody Democratic primary. That doesn’t look like it is going to happen.
So far, Pallone and Holt are playing nice. Pallone is sending out emails asking people to recruit their friends to ‘Like’ his facebook page and volunteer for his campaign. Holt is posting on facebook asking non-Democrats to change parties in order to vote for him in the primary. If Oliver is doing anything, we haven’t noticed.
No one is mentioning all the shootings in Newark this week, that, if they were happening in Marlboro or Newtown, CT would be making national news. No one is asking Booker for his travel schedule or where he spends his weekends. Pallone tried to make an issue of Booker’s relationship with Governor Chris Christie, but Democrats seem to like Christie more than they like Pallone. No one is making an issue of Booker’s relationship with Wall Street, because Wall Street is investing a ton of money in Newark.
In poll conducted over the weekend before Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver got into the U.S. Senate race, the Quinnipiac Polling Institute reports that Newark Mayor Cory Booker has leads of over 40% against Congressmen Frank Pallone and Rush Holt for the Democratic Special Election nomination for U.S. Senate.
In the gubernatorial race, Governor Chris Christie is maintaining his 30 point lead over State Senator Barbara Buono, the Democratic nominee. Buono’s name recognition as risen from the high twenties to the low forties, but as voters get to know her, they don’t like her. Buono’s favorability rating is negative 18-23 percent, with 56% not knowing enough about her to express an opinion.
Presumptive GOP nominee for Senate, Steve Lonegan, trails Booker by 54%-27%. Independents favor Booker over Lonegan 50%-25%.
Lonegan is within 10 points of Frank Pallone, and is virtually tied with the Monmouth County Democrat among Independents, leading by 29%-28%.
Lonegan loses to Holt by only 5% and is also tied with Independents against Holt.
If he really wants to be a U.S. Senator, Steve Lonegan should eliminate the words ‘Obama’ and ‘Obamacare’ from his stump speech and talking points. He should never say the phrase ‘Republican backbone” in public again.
Despite the recent scandals in the IRS, State Department and Justice Department, the president remains popular. 48% of American voters still approve of the president according to the Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll released Sunday. It is a safe bet that New Jersey voters, who reelected President Obama by 18% only 8 months ago, have a higher regard for the president than rest of the country.
Running against Barack Obama in New Jersey is a losing strategy. Running against ‘Washington’ works. Running against the IRS, government eavesdropping, rising healthcare costs and the anemic economy works. Running forliberty and prosperity works. Running forjobs, better education, better healthcare and less government intrusion into our personal lives works.
The Democratic Special Primary for U.S. Senate just got a whole lot more interesting and a whole lot more competitive.
The Star Ledger is reporting that Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has collected 1500 signatures and will file as a candidate on Monday. She will compete with Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Congressman Frank Pallone and Congressman Rush Holt in the August 13 primary for the Democratic nomination to fill the Senate vacancy cause by Frank Lautenberg’s death.
Oliver, of East Orange, cuts into Booker’s base of African-American and urban voters far more powerfully than the suburban congressmen, Pallone and Holt.
In the Republican Special Primary, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan and newcomer Dr. Aleita Eck of Piscataway are expected to file their petitions in Trenton tomorrow.
Bayshore Tea Party co-flounders Barbara Gonzalez and Bob Gordon, former State Senate candidate Leigh-Ann Bellew and former Assembly candidate Edna Walsh announced their endorsement of Eck on Sunday evening. Bellew and Walsh lost the GOP primary in the 13th Legislative District last week by a 80-20 margin, with the support of the Bayshore Tea Party.
Don’t believe for one minute that Cory Booker’s victory in the U.S. Senate Democratic primary in August is a lock.
Let me say that Cory Booker is a good friend of mine. He and I had an excellent personal and working relationship while I served as Region 2 EPA Administrator under President George W. Bush. I actually think that he would make an outstanding U.S. Senator.
There must be something in the poll data, however, that makes both Rush Holt and Frank Pallone think that they can defeat Booker in the August primary. I would say that Booker’s chances of winning the primary are 65 per cent, but no greater. If Democratic Speaker of the Assembly Sheila Oliver runs, Booker’s chances of a primary victory will be reduced – by how much I do not know.
If Cory Booker wins the August primary, however, he will be elected U.S. Senator in October and will be there for life.
If Governor Chris Christie appoints someone to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy caused by Senator Frank Lautenberg’s death, there will either be a special election this year for the remainder of the term, or next November, depending on who’s interpretation of seemingly conflicting paragraphs in Title 19.
Christie has the power to appoint a replacement, but is not required to do so. He very likely will.
The Office of Legislative Services has issued an opinion stating that the Governor can appoint a replacement who will serve until November of 2014. The winner of the November 2014 election would serve the remaining two months of the term and a full term to start in January of 2015.
Christie could also call a special general election to fill the remainder of the term, which would be proceeded by a special primary election.
Monday night at the Two Rivers Republican Club of Fair Haven Meet the Candidates night, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assembly Candidate Edna Walsh got into it over which slate is better known.
While scolding the challengers for running against “the best, most conservative, delegation in the legislature,” and dismissing the Bayshore Tea Party backed candidates’ justification for running, i.e., that Joe Kyrillos, Amy Handlin and O’Scanlon don’t share the conservative values of the district the challengers say, O’Scanlon said, “Where have you been? I haven’t heard from you and no body has heard of you.”
Walsh retorted, “As I go door to door, no one has heard to you.” To which O’Scanlon scoffed.
Both O’Scanlon and Walsh are probably right. Unless something has happened that nobody has accounted for in the last two years, very few of the legislative candidates in the district, and throughout the state, incumbent or not, are very well known.
In March of 2011, days before the new legislative map was announced, I was disgusted that Dr. Alan Rosenthal of Rutgers, the deciding vote on the commission that was designating the gerrymandered map that in all likelihood would determine the partisan composition of the legislature for the next decade, had on his own created a criteria by which the map should be determined; continuity of representation.
Congressman Frank Pallone has the weakest support of the four candidates vying the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, according to a 
