Over the Memorial Day weekend I noticed that Sean Byrnes, the establishment candidate for State Senate in the 13th District Democratic Primary, has put up lawn signs to get people to vote for him on Tuesday, June 6. Byrnes is being challenged for the nomination to compete with Republican Declan O’Scanlon in November by Joshua Leinsdorf of Atlantic Highlands. The winner of the LD 13 Senate election will replace Senator Joe Kyrillos in the Senate.
Given that Byrnes is taking the primary challenge from Leinsdorf seriously, I thought I should too. I invited Mr. Leinsdorf to sit with me for an interview. He surprised me. I thought Leinsdorf was an attention seeking gadfly perennial candidate. I found him to be a sincere, smart and thoughtful man who has common sense ideas on how to solve New Jersey’s many fiscal problems. Win or lose, he wants to influence public policy. He claims that even his losing campaigns have made a difference.
Kim Guadagno, center, and her mother Pat McFadden, right, from a family photo via facebook
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno’s mother, Mary Patricia (Pat) Blevens McFadden, died in Virginia Beach this morning. Guadagno has cancelled her official and campaign schedule and joined her family in Virginia, according to an announcement from the Department of State.
“Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, has joined her family in Virginia Beach, due to the passing this morning of her mother Mary Patricia (Pat) Blevens McFadden. Please include them in your prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” said Suzanne Schwab, spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of State.
Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli’s recent attack on Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno appears to be backfiring. The oversized glossy postcard comparing Guadagno to Hillary Clinton is drawing angry comments on social media and pledges to work for Kim’s nomination on June 6.
Childhood friends of the Assemblyman are turning their backs on his candidacy and Republican women are particularly offended:
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno has expanded her lead in the New Jersey GOP gubernatorial primary, according to independent poll by Stockton University released today.
Guadagno is the favorite of 37% of likely Republican primary voters surveyed between May 16 and 23, up from 29% in a Stockton poll taken April 26 though May 1. Guadagno’s surge coincides with her ads running on MMM. Just sayin’.
Assemblyman Jack Ciattarell’s support slipped 1% from 19% t0 18% between the two polls. Undecided voters declined from 41% to 31%.
Vin Gopal went on the Tommy G Show yesterday, his 32nd birthday, and confessed the obvious—he’s not too bright.
“I’ll be the first to confess that I was not a good student,” Gopal told Tommy.”I liked history and entertainment and art, but wasn’t good at math.”
Gopal spent the majority of his hour with Tommy doing the same thing he’s been doing since he declared his candidacy for State Senate in the 11th District—trying to convince people that Governor Chris Christie and Senator Jennifer Beck share a brain.
One of the pollsters who propelled President Donald Trump to victory last year says Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno is leading her opponent for the NJ GOP gubernatorial nomination by a 2-1 margin with less than three weeks to go before the primary.
Adam Geller of Holmdel, the President of National Research Inc. and a FoxNews contributor, released a memo through the Guadagno campaign this afternoon that states, “With less than three weeks left until the Republican Primary, Kim Guadagno remains strongly positioned to receive the GOP nomination. She has had stronger fundraising, more cash on hand, more county endorsements, and stronger poll numbers according to our latest campaign survey.”
Geller characterised the Ciattarelli campaign as “ineffective” and “negative.”
Friendly rivals? Lt Gov Kim Guadagno and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli
The final televised debate of the 2017 NJ Republican Gubernatorial primary campaign will take place this evening, 8PM at NJTV’s studio in Newark. The debate can be view here via YouTube, courtesy of NJTV and NJSpotlight.
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli are vying for the GOP nomination to replace Governor Chris Christie as the chief executive of New Jersey’s state government and as the titular head of the NJ GOP. NJTV’s Michael Aron will moderate the debate. David Cruz, NJTV’s statehouse reporter and John Mooney, CEO and Founding Editor of NJSpotlight will question the candidates.
The Democrat candidates for Governor held both of their televised last week.
Art Haney, Jack Ciattarelli, Debbie Walker and Alex Robotin. photo via the Haney, Robotin and Walker facebook page
With three weeks to go before the June 6 primary, the campaign to unseat Senator Sam Thompson, Assemblyman Rob Dancer and Assemblyman Rob Clifton as the Republican nominees in the 12th Legislative District appears to be on life support.
Art Haney, the Chairman of the Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority, Old Bridge Councilwoman Debbie Walker and former Chesterfield Councilman Alex Robotin swore to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) that they will be spending less that $14,000 on their joint campaign. Haney is the Senate candidate challenging Thompson. Walker and Robotin are on the ballot against Dancer and Clifton.
Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli has been hammering Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno for months with negative mailings and videos. Now, four weeks before the June 6 gubernatorial primary, the Guadagno team is punching back to make sure the race doesn’t tighten as Republican voters start paying closer attention.
Joe Vas, the former Perth Amboy Mayor and Assemblyman who went to prison for campaign finance fraud and money laundering during his 2006 campaign for Congress, which was managed by Vin Gopal, will be released from prison today, according to a report in MyCentralJersey.
Vas was convicted on both federal and state charges, with his sentences to run concurrently. He finished serving his 6 1/2 year federal prison sentence in February when he was transferred to the custody of the New Jersey prison system. His release today is about 3 weeks earlier than the planned June 2 release date.
Over the Memorial Day weekend I noticed that Sean Byrnes, the establishment candidate for State Senate in the 13th District Democratic Primary, has put up lawn signs to get people to vote for him on Tuesday, June 6. Byrnes is being challenged for the nomination to compete with Republican Declan O’Scanlon in November by Joshua Leinsdorf of Atlantic Highlands. The winner of the LD 13 Senate election will replace Senator Joe Kyrillos in the Senate.
