In January 2006, we now know from a memo released Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee, the name of Christopher J. Christie—then the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey and now the Republican nominee for governor—appeared on a list of potential targets for removal by the Bush Justice Department.
Eight months later, Read More
Robert Menendez carried out his duties as the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee today when he told a reporter from The Hill that he "absolutely" stands by his colleague, Chris Dodd—who has fallen 16 points behind his likely 2010 Republican challenger in the latest Connecticut poll.
"Are you serious?" Menendez asked Read More
Senator Robert Menendez, who now heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has reached out to Caroline Kennedy to gauge her interest in filling the empty seat Hillary Clinton will leave when she joins the Obama administration as secretary of state, according to one Democrat familiar with the negotiations.
According to the source, Menendez and Kennedy Read More
WASHINGTON—Senator Chuck Schumer's status as Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee became no clearer following a closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting today.
Asked about whether Schumer would be staying on in the campaign role, his potential successor, New Jersey Senator Robert Mendendez said only, "Ask Harry Reid," before hurrying away.
Schumer, who as head of Read More
Remember the little kerfuffle that erupted in September when it was revealed that Tom Kean's press secretary was posting scurrilous comments about Bob Menendez on various blogs under an assumed identity? (No? Congratulations--you are healed! Go forth and blog no more!) Apparently a few incidents of incompetent sockpuppetry are not enough to get a Read More
Continuing its tradition of always picking the statewide winner, New Jersey's Bergen County sided with Robert Menendez over Tom Kean for the U.S. Senate. The result from New Jersey's most populous county: Menendez 100,359 Kean: 88,460 -- Steve Kornacki
Democrats are now one-third of the way to claiming the Senate for the first time since 2001, with Sherrod Brown knocking off Mike DeWine in Ohio and Bob Casey, Jr. dethroning Pennsylvania'a Rick Santorum. Neither of these results are surprising -- Santorum has not led in a single public poll over the last 22 Read More
PoliticsNJ.com has declared Democrat Dennis McNerney the winner in the race for Bergen County Executive. And you should care, even if you have never heard of McNerney. Bergen, the densely-populated swath of suburbia that begins on the other side of the George Washington Bridge and extends all the way up to the New York Read More
Much has been made of the Hudson County political roots of Robert Menendez, New Jersey's appointed U.S. Senator. The gritty collection of 13 densely-packed cities and towns - Jersey City, Union City, and Bayonne to name a few - is home to a mighty, efficient, and not infrequently ruthless Democratic machine over which Menendez held Read More
Quinnipiac throws a little bit of a wet blanket (a slightly dampened blanket?) on hopes of a suspenseful election tomorrow, releasing polls on three key races that show: Alan Hevesi leading Chris Callaghan by 12 points; Bob Menendez leading Tom Kean, Jr. by 5; and Joe Lieberman leading Ned Lamont by 12. -- Read More
UNION CITY, N.J.—In his 30-plus years as a player in New Jersey politics, Senator Robert Menendez has cultivated dozens of friends and allies in positions of influence. But recently, on Sept. 5, one of his allies, a New Jersey business owner and a major fund-raiser for Mr. Menendez, showed up in a curious place: in Read More
UNION CITY, N.J.—In his 30-plus years as a player in New Jersey politics, Senator Robert Menendez has cultivated dozens of friends and allies in positions of influence.
But recently, on Sept. 5, one of his allies, a New Jersey business owner and a major fund-raiser for Mr. Menendez, showed up in a curious place: in Read MoreTom Suozzi is backing Alan Hevesi for re-election. John McCain endorsed Chris Callaghan. Jonathan Miller, who wrote a story in this week's Observer about the relationships between Senator Bob Menendez and hard-line anti-Castro activists, has more here on a related group of hard-liners recently called before a grand jury in Newark. The Read More
So what impact does yesterday's decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court that have on the Senate race? The immediate analysis, from both camps, is - not much. Though the court's ruling is in many ways monumental, it leaves the question of marriage to the state legislature. That takes pressure off the two candidates, who Read More
Joe Lieberman's decision to run as an Independent in the Connecticut Senate race has forced Democrats across the country to decide whether to endorse the Democratic nominee or Democratic incumbent. But Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey found a simpler solution last night, according to this fun story in the Times. Endorse both of Read More
