U.S. Senator Rand Paul is coming to New Jersey on September 13 to endorse Steve Lonegan for Senate in the October 16 Special Election against Cory Booker.
Governor Chris Christie, who had a well publicized rift with Paul over the NSA’s monitoring of domestic communications, was invited to attend the Friday afternoon rally. Christie and Paul are widely considered GOP contenders for the 2016 presidential nomination.
Christie declined the invitation because he will be away celebrating the First Lady’s 50th birthday.
Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Cory Booker has not released his tax returns, despite a promise to do so, according to the New York Post.
“We will release his tax returns,” vowed Booker campaign spokesman Kevin Griffis more than two weeks ago, yesterday claiming Booker “will continue to raise the bar on transparency — both in this election, and if elected, in the US Senate.”
GOP nominee Steve Lonegan provided three years of returns exclusively to The Post. The paper said that Lonegan earned $515,280 in 2012, mostly from property sales, and paid nearly $100,000 in federal taxes.
Lonegan said Booker is refusing to release his returns because he used his office, Newark Mayor, to accumulate personal wealth.
“It’s indicative of the fact that he’s got something to hide,” Lonegan told The Post. “It’s clear to me that Booker leveraged the office of mayor . . . to gain wealth.”
The Post has previously reported that Booker received an undisclosed amount in an equity payout from the law firm he was a partner in before being elected mayor. The payout was made from 2007 through 2011. During that time the firm, Trenk DiPasquale, collected more than $2 million in fees from local agencies that Booker has direct influence over.
The New York Times reported in May that Booker has earned $1.3 million in speaking fees since becoming mayor and that his Newark home is assessed at $406,000. He earns a salary of $174,496 as mayor.
It sure sounds like it in the beginning of this video as the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate sings Governor Christie’s praises during an appearance in Newark yesterday, while GOP Senate candidate Steve Lonegan’s campaign manager Rick Shaftan on was hand to video the event.
Booker responded on social media. He’s a kind politician, not a new kind of politician.
Hmmm. This post might give New Jersey more insight into Booker’s foreign policy philosophy than the Lonegan campaign’s “silly and childish” tweet during a Democratic primary debate. Let’s be kind to terrorists and our foreign enemies. That fits with the Obama/HClinton/Kerry foreign policy of apologizing for America.
Patrick Murray’s poll of likely voters continues to show Booker beating GOP nominee Steve Lonegan by double digits. Today’s 54%-38% Booker lead is nearly identical to the pre-primary 53%-37% lead the Newark Mayor enjoyed in June. In other words, Lonegan has gained no ground by deploying his anti-Obama campaign strategy in the last two months.
But despite his huge victory, the Democratic primary took something of a toll on Booker’s favorability ratings, which have dropped 12 points net since June. Given how easy Congressmen Frank Pallone and Rush Holt went on Booker during the primary, a 12 point drop is significant.
photo via facebook
In order to close the gap and make the Special Senate Election competitive, Lonegan needs to scrap the idea of making the campaign a referendum on President Obama’s policies. We had that referendum last November and Obama won in New Jersey by 18 points. Lonegan has said that Obama’s numbers are going to drop. They have dropped a bit, only 49% of New Jersey likely voters told the Monmouth University poll that they approved of the President, while 43% disapprove. If those numbers suddenly plunge, Lonegan will benefit without trying. If Obama’s approval stays stubbornly positive, as they have through various scandals, Lonegan stands to gain little ground.
50% of those who said they have a favorable opinion of Booker also said they could change their minds. Booker’s favorables are soft. Obama’s have proven to be stubborn.
South Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross invited the “reconfigured power elite” of the state Democratic Party to dinner in Colts Neck last night, according to a report at PolitickerNJ.
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal was not there; not invited to a high powered Democratic gathering in his county.
Also not present, gubernatorial nominee and head of the party in name only, State Senator Barbara Buono. Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, not there. U.S. Senate nominee Cory Booker represented Essex County. Essex County Executive Joseph Divencenzo, who has endorsed Governor Chris Christie for reelection, was not invited.
Gopal would not comment on this story. He said via text that he is traveling and would call back Monday.
Governor Chris Christie and Danny Shields in Highlands earlier this year. Shields, an owner of Windansea, is Sen. Jennifer Beck’s husband.
Governor Chris Christie sounded like a candidate for President of the United States during an address to a private luncheon of the Republican National Committee this afternoon in Boston, according to a report at Politico.
The meeting was closed to reporters at Christie’s insistence, Politico said, but the site obtained a recording from someone in attendance.
Christie’s theme: Republicans need to stop debating, focus on winning and he knows how to win.
“We are not a debating society,” Christie said. “We are a political operation that needs to win.”
“I’m in this business to win,” he said. “I don’t know why you’re in it…I think that we have some folks that believe that our job is to be college professors. Now college professors are fine, I guess. You know, college professors basically spout out ideas that nobody ever does anything about. For our ideas to matter, we have to win because, if we don’t win, we don’t govern. And if we don’t govern, all we do is shout into the wind. So I am going to do anything I need to do to win!”
