US Senate

Joe Cryan, chairman of the Democratic State Committee, announced onMichael Muller Thursday the party’s selection of Michael Muller of Mount Laurel to run the Democratic Party’s "coordinated campaign" operation in New Jersey.

"This is an important election year that offers opportunities for Democrats at all levels," said Cryan. "We have the best candidates, we have the issues on our side and we have a strong Democratic tide fueled by the accumulated failures of George Bush and the Republicans. Hard working and skilled campaign staffers such as Michael will help convert Democratic advantages into Election Day victories."

Associate Executive Director for Communications for the Assembly Democratic Majority, Muller served as campaign director for Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) presidential primary race in New Jersey.

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.

United States Senate candidate Dick Zimmer raised about $273,000 since May 15th, bringing his total raised since entering the race in April to $751,555.

Zimmer has $411,029 on hand.

“Considering that my fundraising began in mid-April, I am very encouraged by the level of support I have received in such a short amount of time,” said Zimmer. “It is clear that, as the cost of living in New Jersey becomes more and more unaffordable, New Jerseyans want more effective leadership in Washington.”

Team Lautenberg may have handled U.S. Rep Rob Andrews (D-1) in the Democratic Primary, but the bats of U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell’s (D-8) Silk City Sluggers proved too much for the senatorial nine last night in Clifton.

Pascrell’s gang defeated Team Lautenberg 7-3 at Sperling Park.

Lautenberg pitcher Steve Lenox worked some guile on the mound, and centerfielder Michael Pagan pulled some bang-up plays, but ultimately to no avail.

Silk City manager and third baseman Fahim Abedrabbo of Clifton homered for the Paterson diehards, as did former Pascrell field rep. and current Lautenberg aide/team manager Michael Venezia of Bloomfield.

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg leads Republican challenger Dick Zimmer 49%-36%, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released today.

The poll also shows Gov. Jon Corzine approval rating at only 27%, while 40% disapprove. That’s a slight drop from last month.

The poll comes after two other recent polls from other organizations showed Lautenberg leading Zimmer by large margins, although a Rasmussen poll from early last month – just after both won their respective primaries-- showed the two in a statistical dead heat.

Lautenberg heads back to the phones for money: Politicker photo 

Now the cash rebuilding effort begins for Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

Coming off of a blowout victory over South Jersey challenger U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) in the Democratic Primary, Lautenberg is starting with $1.3 million in the bank in mid-summer as he heads toward his November mano-a-mano with Republican candidate and former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer.

The Lautenberg campaign spent $5 million against the upstart Andrews, according to sources close to the U.S. Senator.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) had feared a Lautenberg dollar drain, and quickly went to the phones to try to take the steam out of Andrews when the congressman pawed the turf in the late days of April.

The New Jersey Libertarian Party opened its campaign headquarters on the Atlantic City Boardwalk over the July 4th weekend, according to Lou Jasikoff, regional coordinator for Bob Barr for President.

Running on the New Jersey ticket with Barr - a former Georgia congressman and former Republican - is Mercer businessman Jason Scheurer, the Libertarian Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate.

Scheurer got blown out last year in his 14th District Assembly run.

"We didn’t do as well as we were hoping," admitted Jasikoff of Scheurer’s 2007 campaign. "We were hoping to do a little bit better, but we got certified. That gave us a certain amount of credibility."

Samantha Maltzman is Frank Lautenberg's new Finance DirectorThe former finance director for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has joined the re-election team of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

Samantha Maltzman starts work today as finance director for Lautenberg, who's running against challenger, former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer.

After his primary with U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1), Lautenberg is in financial rebuilding mode, and that's where the campaign intends to make use of Maltzman's expertise.

The two major candidates in the U.S. Senate race will participate in an online “Virtual Debate” sponsored by the Hall Institute of Public Policy, according to a release. 

“We are honored that these two distinguished candidates are taking part in our virtual debate,” said George E. Hall, the institute’s founder. “By creating a forum for thoughtful and constructive exchange, the virtual debate will encourage and facilitate participation in the electoral process.”

The virtual debate is scheduled to take place on the Hall Institute website: www.hallnj.org/virtualdebate.

Claiming to have nailed down the likely identity of someone who pretended to be him in email correspondence at the height of the Republican Primary, State GOP Chairman Tom Wilson today sent out a message to Republicans fingering a key supporter of Senate candidate Murray Sabrin.

"Efforts to trace the source of the emails were hampered by the inability of the Internet service providers to provide the details necessary," Wilson told Republicans in his email message sent today.

"However, the account was re-opened at some later point and was successfully traced to the former residence of Patrick Donohue, who owns Max Consulting in New York City," Wilson said of the early April transmissions.

Max Consulting is listed on Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports as having received more than $123,000 from the underdog campaign of Sabrin, who confirmed Donohue was the campaign’s fund-raiser.