Christopher Van Hollen

Some clever campaign tactics, a successful fundraising operation, newspaper endorsements, a political environment that was advantageous to Democrats, and a late campaign visit from Christopher Van Hollen wasn't enough to help blind Rabbi Dennis Shulman run any stronger against U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett than any of this the three previous Democratic candidates.  Garrett beat Shulman 56%-42%, a stronger showing than his 55%-44% win over Paul Stuart Aronsohn in 2006.  Anne Wolfe won 41% in 2005, and Anne Sumers won 38% in 2002.

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Bill Clinton is coming to New Jersey because Linda Stender is trailing Leonard Lance in the race for the 7th district congressional seat.  The decision of national Democrats to dispatch Clinton to help Stender and not John Adler might be an indication of their confidence in winning the third district race.  It's noteworthy that Clinton will be in the state and not traveling the extra hour to help Adler; it seems the Democrats have made a decision that they're comforable with Adler's chances against Republican Christopher Myers.

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The Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) seems confident that Democrats will pick up two House seats in New Jersey this year, but stopped short of promising financial help to Dennis Shulman, a blind Rabbi who is challenging Rep. Scott Garrett in the 5th district.

"The closer we got to Election Day the more opportunities developed. Sometimes as you get closer some fall off the list. The last time we went through this in 2006, the closer we got to voting day the more competitive," said Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D-Md.) in a conference call with reporters today.

The DCCC's third priority in New Jersey is Shulman, who has raised a lot of money for a challenger in a long-shot district, and whose unique personal story has recently drawn national media attention from publications like Time, Newsweek and The New Yorker.

"The short answer is that we're very impressed with what they've done and we see that campaign on an upward trajectory," he said. Read More >