The Candidates

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Pallone Shows Up To Thank His Supporters

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Waiting for Frank to concede

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AP Calls Booker The Winner

With 18% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press has declared Newark Mayor Cory Booker the Democratic nominee to replace the late Senator Frank Lautenberg in Washington.

As of 8:52PM,. Booker has 33,296 votes to Congressman Frank Pallone’s 15,424.  Congressman Rush Holt has 8,060 votes and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver 2,744.

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Associated Press Calls Republican Primary For Lonegan

The Associated Press has declared former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan the winner of the Republican Special Senate Primary.

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Early Monmouth Returns

Will VBM ballots and 9 of 458 precincts reporting, Frank Pallone is leading Cory Booker in Monmouth County, 53%-29%, in the Democratic Senate Primary.
In the Republican Primary, Steve Lonegan is leading Dr. Alieta Eck 84% -14%.

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Booker Strong In Vote By Mail Returns

PolitckerNJ is reporting that Newark Mayor Cory Booker blew away in Vote By Mail (VBM) ballots in Hudson County and is outperforming the field in Bergen, Essex and Passaic  counties.

In Monmouth County, Charles Measley drove past Congressman Frank Pallone’s house on the way to the Pallone celebration at McCloon’s.  Frank’s Chevy is parked in the driveway.

Measley will be reporting for MMM from Pallone Headquarter throughout the night.

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Down to the wire, Pallone not letting up

Congressman Frank Pallone is working this election to the very last minute.  At 7PM he sent out an email reminding supporters that they still have an hour to vote and offering rides to the polls.

Pallone ran the “Chevy” ad on News 12 shortly before 7. The polls close at 8.

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Live Election Coverage From NJTV

Watch NJTV’s live primary election coverage here at 6, 8:56, 9:56 and 11 tonight.

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A map that favors Pallone?

 The Special Senate Primaries are today.

Turnout is always low in primaries, normally held on the first Tuesday in June.  In the last competitive Democratic Senate primary, 2008 when Congressman Rob Andrews challenged incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg because he was too old, approximately 325,000 New Jersey Democrats voted.  About 159,000 Republicans voted in the 2008 Senate primary between former Congressman Richard Zimmer and State Senator Joseph Pennacchio.

Voter turnout was always expected to be low for today’s primaries being held on the second Tuesday in August.   The polls indicate that Newark Mayor Cory Booker will easily win the Democratic primary and that former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan is essentially unopposed in the Republican primary. But no one has a historical model by which to predict voter turnout on the second Tuesday in August.

That’s why Congressman Frank Pallone has been running hard like he doesn’t believe, or care about the polls.  Pallone told MSNBC last week that the turnout will be very low, that the polls don’t mean very much at this point, and that he has a strong field operation to get his supporters to the polls.

In the last day of the primary campaign, Booker had Eva Longoria on his bus, Congressman Rush Holt went on The Colbert Report, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver picked up the last minute endorsement of the Woman Political Caucus of NJ, and Pallone rented a fleet of vans to take voters to the polls.

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