Dennis Shulman

New York Governor David Paterson said he shares a special bond with Dennis Shulman, the blind rabbi and psychologist who’s running in the 5th Congressional District.

“I’m really proud of him. He’s a great person and we’ve got a lot of similar experiences, and it was a lot of fun to have some kinship,” said Paterson, who like Shulman has been legally blind since childhood. “There are a lot of African-American elected officials, but the only blind elected official I ever met was the former Lieutenant Governor from Maryland."

Shulman was in the audience when Paterson gave the keynote address at the New Jersey delegation’s breakfast this morning. Paterson actually endorsed Shulman before former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned, when he was merely Lieutenant Governor. Since then, he’s held two fundraising events with Shulman in New York City.

Both Shulman and Paterson said a third event is planned, though they haven’t worked out the specifics.

DENVER – The Democratic Party already knows Dennis Shulman, who’s running for Congress against Republican incumbent E. Scott Garrett, exists. 

Shulman, a blind rabbi and psychologist who’s not a delegate, is attending the Democratic National Convention.  And he said he’s been doing the same thing in Denver he’s been doing at home in Bergen County – shaking hands and trying to convince influential politicians that his district is winnable, even against an entrenched incumbent. 

Pretty much all of the New Jersey delegation in Denver knows who Shulman is, and many politicians from other states may have heard of him from news accounts in several national publications.  But convincing them that winning is a realistic prospect is another matter.

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.

Fifth District Democratic Challenger Dennis Shulman and incumbent Rep. E. Scott Garrett raised close to the same amount of money last fundraising quarter, though Garrett retains a significant cash advantage.

Shulman raised $270,000 last quarter, according to his campaign, bringing his total raised so far to about $585,000, with $258,000 cash on hand after a primary against attorney Camille Abate.

“We’re excited that grassroots energy for Dennis’s campaign is translating into the resources that we need to get the message out in November,” said Shulman Campaign Manager Jeff Hauser.

A campaign consultant for Rep. E. Scott Garrett (R-05) called out Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman for hypocrisy today regarding the influence of lobbyists in his campaign.

A week after Shulman’s campaign criticized Garrett for hiring a new chief of staff who used to lobby for mortgage giant Countrywide Financial, Garrett consultant Matt Leonardo sent out a blistering email pointing out that Shulman Campaign Manager Jeff Hauser was a lobbyist for the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) last year.

“It appears Dennis Shulman and Jeff Hauser have egg on their faces,” said Leonardo.

U.S. Rep Scott Garrett (R-Wantage)A staunch opponent of mortgage company regulation and bailing out distressed borrowers, U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) has a new chief of staff with ties to the troubled mortgage industry.

Amy Smith, who was hired as Garrett's chief-of-staff in March, spent two years as a lobbyist for the boutique firm Bartlett, Bendall and Kadesh, LLC, during which time she helped lobby for Countrywide Financial, the mortgage giant that has borne part of the blame for the subprime crisis, along with several other clients.

That, according to the campaign of 5th District Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman, represents a "revolving door culture in Washington."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has bumped Dennis Shulman up a rung on its priorities list.

The committee announced today that Shulman has moved up from being a “targeted race” to an “emerging race,” which means that Shulman is a contender to participate in the organization’s “Red to Blue” fundraising program.

Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan in Newark on Tuesday night. 

NEWARK - They came together in Newark tonight in a public display of unity, the forces of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, all lining up behind Gov. Jon Corzine, who proclaimed his support for Obama in this governor’s fund-raiser for the Democratic State Committee.

"Yes, we can, and he will be the next president," shouted Corzine, echoing the campaign slogan of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

The Democrats raised over $500,000 tonight at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, according to party spokesman Richard McGrath, as part of a $5,000 VIP ticket, $1,500 per-person kick-start for what Corzine hopes will be blue state heaven for these Democrats come Nov. 4.

In a sign that national Democrats may actually believe that they have a shot at ousting Republican Rep. E. Scott Garrett, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) will join Democratic congressional candidate Dennis Shulman to meet with labor officials on Monday.

Shulman, a blind rabbi and psychologist, is running a long-shot campaign against Garrett, who’s easily beaten back three previous challenges from Democrats. But Shulman’s fundraising prowess and unconventional life story have raised eyebrows with national Democrats, who will likely make Shulman’s race their third priority after the 3rd and 7th Congressional Districts, where John Adler and Linda Stender are running for open seats vacated by Republicans.
In January, Hoyer swung through the state to stump and fundraise for Adler and Stender.

In the fifth congressional district, incumbent Republican E. Scott Garrett leads his potential challengers in fundraising.

Garrett raised $94,037.97 between April 1st and May 14th, bringing his total raised this cycle to $783,088.21 and his war chest of available cash to $508,523.31.