Watch the Second Democratic Gubernatorial Debate

The second debate among the candidates for the Democrat nomination for NJ Governor will be broadcast tonight on NJTV at 8PM.

According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, former Goldman Sachs executive Phil Murphy has a commanding lead over former U.S. Treasury Official Jim Johnson, Senator Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, but over half of Democrat voters are still undecided.

The Democrat and Republican primaries will be held on June 6.

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Watch the NJ Gubernatorial Debates Live

The candidates for the Democrat and Republican nominations for New Jersey Governor will be debating this evening at Stockton University.

Republicans Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli will face off from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Democrats former U.S. Treasury official Jim Johnson, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy, and state Assemblyman John Wisniewski will debate from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m. Read the rest of this entry »

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Live, from New Jersey … is Joe Piscopo actually going to run for governor?

NEW YORK — Joe Piscopo had just gone to a commercial break during his New York City morning radio show when his producer, Frank “Five Boroughs” Morano, interjected with a query. Morano said he spent part of the weekend playing Trivial Pursuit with his parents, only to be stumped by this question: “Which ‘Saturday Night Live’… Read the rest of this entry »

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Guadagno not such a dark horse vs. Murphy | Opinion

By Alan J. Steinberg This has been the week of the entry of Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno into New Jersey’s 2017 gubernatorial race. The conventional wisdom of the state’s political class is that Guadagno will win the Republican nomination and lose by a substantial margin in the general election to the likely Democratic nominee, former Goldman… Read the rest of this entry »

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Monmouth Dems Nominate Murphy For Governor

photo via Julie Roginsky, facebook

The Monmouth County Democrats endorsed former Goldman Sachs executive Phil Murphy, of Middletown, to be the Party nominee for Governor in the June 6 Democrat Primary at their secret convention in Wall Township this afternoon, according to a facebook post by Fox News Contributor Julie Roginsky.

The endorsement traditionally gives the favored candidate superior ballot positioning within the County in the Primary election.

Murphy has been considered the runaway front runner for the nomination since Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop announced he would not seek the nomination last September.  Fulop endorsed Murphy, as did several Democrat County Chairs and Party Leaders.  Senate President Steve Sweeney announced that he would not be a candidate in early October and backed Murphy.

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Phil Murphy — A Bloomberg, Not a Corzine

By Alan J. Steinberg

Alan J. Steinberg

Initially, I thought Phil Murphy, as a candidate for the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2017 would be the second coming of John Corzine – a well-meaning yet out-of-touch gubernatorial candidate who would be unable to communicate effectively with middle class and working class New Jerseyans.

Murphy had been appointed by former Acting Governor Dick Codey in 2005 to chair an advisory commission regarding the state pension shortfall.  The commission’s implicit recommendation was a $12.1 billion tax hike – political suicide in New Jersey.  To me, this was the forerunner of the Jon Corzine asset monetization/toll hike proposal which doomed him in his reelection campaign against Chris Christie in 2009.

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Gopal Pushes Hornik for Governor, Bashes Monmouth Republicans

Vin Gopal and Jon Hornik, photo via facebook

Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal is publicly calling for Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik to run for governor in 2017.

In a Letter to the Editor published on APP.com,  Gopal sings Hornik’s praises as a “socially conscious and fiscally ressponsible” Democrat who was elected in three time in a town that voted for Chris Christie for Governor and Steve Lonegan for U.S. Senate over Cory Booker in 2013. Gopal said that should Hornik run for governor, he would have Vin’s unwavering support.

I wonder how Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Senate President Steve Sweeney and former Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy, all presumed Democratic candidates for governor who have contributed generously to Gopal’s Monmouth County Democratic campaigns, feel about this.

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What if Menendez resigns?

Senator Bob Menendez, left, and Congressman Frank Pallone, making like chimpmunks at the 2012 Belmar St. Patrick’s parade. Photo credit Charles Measley

First of all, Senator Bob Menendez might not even be indicted.  Leaks out of the Justice Department have been notoriously unreliable since Chris Christie resigned as U.S. Attorney in 2008.

If Menendez is indicted, he probably will not resign. In his press conference this evening, the Senator defiantly insisted on the “appropriateness and lawfulness” of his relationship with Dr. Salomon Melgen, the Florida ophthalmologist who is Menendez’s friend and benefactor. He declared that he is not going anywhere.

If, as CNN speculates, Menendez is charged with corruption this month, it could be Halloween before he goes to trial. Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell was indicted in January of 2014.  His trial didn’t start until late July and didn’t end to early September.   Unless Menendez makes a deal to avoid prosecution that includes his resignation, there is not likely to be a Special Election to fill the Senate seat until next year….2016, the year of the next presidential election.

If Chris Christie is still Governor in 2016 and Menendez’s seat becomes vacant, he will get to choose the next Senator and set the date a special election.   There could be a mid-year Special Election or the Special Election could be on the same day as the presidential election.  There’s no way to know now what is likely to happen.

Still, the prospect of a Senatorial vacancy stirs speculation and the phone lines among both Democrats and Republicans have been burning this afternoon since the news of the possible prosecution broke.

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