Leonard Lance

As today marks the filing deadline for FEC reports, PolitickerNJ.com has reported totals as the numbers have become available. Below are links to our complete coverage, broken down by races.

Sen. Leonard Lance and his wife, Heidi.: Politicker photo

Tonight, state Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon) reported "about $100,000" in the bank as he faces the $1.5 million cash juggernaut of Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) in the 7th Congressional District. 

"We're spending the summer raising money," an upbeat Lance told PolitickerNJ.com. "We have a serious fundraising operation ongoing."

Asked if he is optimistic, the Republican nominee said, "Very much so. I'm getting a good reception."

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) website Tuesday evening showed Lance with $80,792.90 on hand for the period ending on June 30.

Stender's team today celebrated their lopsided cash advantage.

Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) 

Republican State Committee Chairman Tom Wilson today joined the GOP chorus demanding that Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood) return contributions from U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-Harlem) following publication of a New York Times story this week detailing sweetheart deals the congressman received on four Harlem apartments.

"Linda Stender has filled her campaign coffers with over $20,000 in contributions from Charlie Rangel and plans to accept even more as a recipient of his annual birthday fund-raiser at New York’s swank Tavern on the Green restaurant scheduled for August 6th," Wilson said.

"Stender likes to tell everyone how she's not a typical politician and that she will stand up to Washington corruption but unless she returns the $21,000 from Rangel and his political action committee that's fueling her campaign and remove her name for his up coming fund-raiser, she just proves that she is another typical double-talking politician that's incapable of changing Washington," added the GOP chairman.

Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Union) raised just under $500,000 for her congressional campaign during the last fundraising quarter, bringing her total raised so far to $1.54 million.

Stender has $1.2 million cash-on-hand to run for the open seat of retiring Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson against State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon).  The race is one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) top priorities this election cycle. 

“I’m amazed by the overwhelming amount of support we continue to receive for our campaign,” Stender said in a statement. “New Jersey families have shown they want and need change. The failed policies of the Bush Administration have led our country in the wrong direction, and I’m running for Congress to get us back on the right track.”

On Tuesday, rival congressional candidates State Sen. Leonard Lance and Assemblywoman Linda Stender ran into each other, fresh from tense budget proceedings in the legislature. 

The two caught the same 7:00 a.m. train to Washington, where each was meeting with party leaders to plot strategy for the months ahead.  The two commiserated on the long night in Trenton, but they didn’t sit next to each other.    

Stender was headed to an event hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for about five top tier female congressional candidates.  Lance was on his way to meet with National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole and other party bigwigs. 

McCain State Chair Bill Baroni, right, with Sen. Leonard Lance on Wednesday in Woodbridge.
WOODBRIDGE - The McCain campaign opened up its New Jersey/New York regional headquarters here in the heart of hail fellow blue collar country on New Brunswick Avenue.

"New Jersey is McCain country," declared New Jersey State Campaign Chairman Bill Baroni, flanked by fellow Republicans, including Sen. Thomas Kean, Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, state Sen. Kevin O’Toole, state Sen. Leonard Lance, Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton, Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan, Morris County Sheriff Ed Rochford, and Ed Cox, chair of the New York McCain campaign, among others.

"We are here, we’re campaigning, we’re competing, we’re building a grassroots organization, we’re opening it (campaign headquarters) in the heart of Reagan Democratic country," said Baroni, who also at least once invoked what New Jersey Republicans call the "Baroni model," or hardcore shoe leather-style campaigning.

Somerset County Democratic Chair Peg Schaffer, right, with Montgomery Mayor Cecilia Birge, one of her freeholder candidates. 

Charged up by the presidential race, Democrats believe they can storm GOP freeholder strongholds in at least three counties this year: Somerset, Burlington and Monmouth.

While the Democratic Party has chopped away in sections at county freeholder seats in Monmouth and now is one win away from obtaining a majority, Somerset and Burlington remain elusive Republican bulwarks for the Democrats, who see Monmouth as a model.

The election this week of a new Democratic Party chair in Somerset brought forth fighting words from those party members long schooled in living under Republican rule, and prompted the obligatory GOP reply that for all the updates on Democratic Party registration, the county remains red.

Following her loss to state Sen. Leonard Lance last week in the 7thKate Whitman Congressional District GOP primary, Kate Whitman reached out to the winner and offered her help.

Today, Lance spokesman Amanda Woloshen confirmed that his campaign has made Whitman a member of its finance committee.

"She'll be an important member of our team," Woloshen said of the daughter of former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman.

Whitman's congressional campaign raised more money than any of her primary opponents.

Henry Kuhl and parlimentarian Tony Maglio 

FLEMINGTON - The veterans picked the veteran here tonight and the county committee responded in kind as Hunterdon County Republican Chairman Henry Kuhl won re-election over Bloomsbury Mayor Mark Peck.

The Hunterdon GOP faithful are proud and excited to have two residents on the general election ballot in important races: Dick Zimmer running for U.S. Senate and Leonard Lance for U.S. Congress in the 7th District.

Both candidates backed 28-year chair Kuhl for another term.

7th Congressional District GOP nominee Leonard Lance 

FLEMINGTON - State Sen. Leonard Lance, the Republican candidate for Congress in the 7th District, just thanked the overflow crowd here in GOP headquarters.

"I'm grateful to everyone in this room," said Lance, who last week romped to victory in the GOP primary.

The candidate, who made his remarks moments before heading out the door to attend reorganization meetings in Somerset and Union counties, endorsed chair Henry Kuhl for another term over challenger Mayor Mark Peck of Bloomsbury.