New Jersey

The Senate races that could shock you on election night.

In New Jersey’s 11th, GOP candidate Jay Webber promises to be ‘a tough out.’

For as long as The Scrapbook can remember, we’ve watched impressive Republicans run for the Senate in New Jersey and flop. No Republican has won a Senate seat in the Garden State since Clifford Case was re-elected in 1972.

It did in Alabama. It might in New Jersey.

A recent poll and one from May indicate the beleaguered Democratic incumbent is unexpectedly weak.

One of the tragedies of American life, as we’ve had occasion to lament in these pages before, is the slow decline of local journalism. The Internet and social media seem to meet many people’s need to stay connected to their communities, news organizations are widely reviled by a polarized public,…

What's in this week's issue? Editor in chief Stephen F. Hayes has a breakdown of what is in this week's issue:

Last September, the big hats in the political hierarchy of New York and New Jersey spent an hour at the White House with President Trump. They were seeking a pile of money to pay for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River connecting northern New Jersey and Manhattan.

What’s the latest in this week’s issue? Here’s our editor in chief Stephen F. Hayes on what is in the latest edition of this week's magazine:

Does America really have only 11 main cultures? That's what a new map by Colin Woodard suggests, and it has lots of people arguing. I grew up in Yankeedom (Cleveland), went to school in the Midlands (Saint Louis), and now live in Tidewater. Naturally, Saint Louis and Cleveland are more similar to…

He was twice on the cover of National Review. He was the subject of admiring profiles in the Washington Post, Time, and, yes, THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Throughout his first term as governor of New Jersey, he was described time and again as a “rising star” of the GOP and a certain presidential contender.…

Mike Flynn's RNC speech didn't age well! Vic Berger helps us remember a simpler time, when rhetoric was rhetoric and you didn't have to worry about the pesky special counsel.

The New Jersey judge in Sen. Bob Menendez’s federal corruption trial sent the jury home to “clear their heads” Monday after jurors informed him they were deadlocked on a verdict.

The following is an archival version of our Election Night 2017 live blog. Posts are in reverse chronological order.

Virginia and New Jersey—two states with a combined population of about 17 million—are voting today in the largest American elections since November 2016. Both states are choosing new governors and electing numerous state and local officials. So it’s worth asking: Who’s going to win? And what do…

The verdict in the corruption trial of Democratic senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey may come as early as this week. If Menendez is convicted of a felony, Democrats face big trouble.

Next week, a populous, diverse, and politically interesting state is going to elect a new governor.

On November 12, 2015, officials in New York and New Jersey thought they had struck it rich. They had arranged a 50-50 deal with the federal government in which the feds would pay for half the cost of a new tunnel under the Hudson River, the renovation of Penn Station, and a lot more.

On November 12, 2015, officials in New York and New Jersey thought they had struck it rich. They had arranged a 50-50 deal with the federal government in which the feds would pay for half the cost of a new tunnel under the Hudson River, the renovation of Penn Station, and a lot more.

This week on The Weekly Substandard, Sonny Bunch, Jonathan V. Last, and Victorino Matus discuss the new sci-fi thriller Arrival, plus their favorite alien-invasion movies of all time, their favorite Thanksgiving dishes, and—best of all—their favorite rest stops!

The Trump Taj Mahal resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is closing down. Here's the latest from the Press of Atlantic City:

Have you ever stayed at a hotel that was so dingy, dirty, and broken down that, when you returned home, you felt like you just had to take a shower? I did—last weekend, in fact. And this one bears the name of the GOP's nominee for president of the United States of America.

Five years after the collapse of MF Global, a settlement will soon be reached between Jon Corzine, the former CEO of the now-bankrupt brokerage firm, and customers who claim their funds were wrongfully used to offset the shortfall, making those accounts unavailable to them. Although Corzine and his…

I am often asked by fellow conservatives about my experience with Governor Chris Christie as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey in 2014. When I reply that Gov. Christie and his team, after remaining scrupulously neutral during a tightly contested four-way primary, were very…

Hampstead, N.H.

Leading in to the Iowa caucuses, opponents of Donald Trump began to hit him for his support of eminent domain. Not just any kind of eminent domain (road, bridge, etc.) but for trying to take an old woman's house for a parking lot for his (now failed) casino.

Monday morning, Governor Chris Christie was asked about why he's back in New Hampshire so soon after the recent storm that caused flooding and other damage in New Jersey.

The New Hampshire Union Leader has endorsed Chris Christie for president. The state's largest daily newspaper, which has a conservative-leaning editorial board, published the endorsement Saturday. Here's an excerpt:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie directly challenged an account from presidential rival Donald Trump that "thousands" of Muslims in the Garden State cheered on the day of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

As the administration at Princeton University prepares to consider removing the name of Woodrow Wilson from the institution's school of foreign affairs amid protests, one prominent parent of a Princeton student is speaking out. New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who is running for the Republican…

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie slammed Secretary of State John Kerry for remarks the top diplomat made Tuesday about the attacks in Paris and the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January. Kerry contrasted the Paris attacks, which he called “indiscriminate,” with the attacks on the French satire…

If you were just listening to Chris Christie’s answers Tuesday night, you might have thought he was debating Hillary Clinton. The Republican governor of New Jersey used his demotion to the undercard debate in Milwaukee to focus not on the other three low-polling Republicans on stage but instead on…

On a fall afternoon in 2010, the unlikely trio of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took the stage of the Oprah show to declare their plan to remake American urban education. The scene, which turned ecstatic with the…

Many American cities have suffered through alarming increases in their homicide rates this summer. New York City is not one of them. 

New Jersey's kids, like all kids, are our future. And in many places, it takes a village to raise those children, complete with teachers' unions.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie says America needs a "strong law enforcer as president" in a new 30-second TV ad. In the spot, Christie, a Republican, lists off examples of "lawlessness in America and around the world under Barack Obama," including the terror of ISIS, sanctuary cities for…

Bob Menendez, the Democratic senator from New Jersey and one of the leading voices for tougher sanctions on the Iranian regime, delivered an address Tuesday at Seton Hall University in which he declared he would oppose the nuclear deal with Iran.

Manchester, N.H.

On Tuesday, New Jersey governor Chris Christie became the fourteenth Republican to join the presidential race, promising in a rambling announcement in his hometown of Livingston that he would bring “strong leadership” to Washington. Christie also argued the country should not turn control over to…

Atlantic City 

Oklahoma City

New Jersey governor Chris Christie told CNN's Jake Tapper Tuesday that it "wasn't" the right decision to go to war in Iraq, given what we know now about the intelligence failures leading up to the invasion in 2003.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie will be sending New Jersey cops to Baltimore. The Republican governor made the announcement on Twitter. 

Governor Chris Christie has a big fan in Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The New Jersey governor posted a video on the social media website from his latest town hall event. Zuckerberg "liked" the post and even commented. Check out a screenshot below:

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey will announce in a speech in Trenton Tuesday that the New Jersey Education Association has endorsed the Republican's "roadmap" for pension reform. Christie, who made a national name for himself over his public battles with teachers unions in the Garden State,…

Governor Chris Christie is warning folks to get home by 9 p.m., before the worst of the snow storm is expected. New Jersey (and other states) are expecting to get hit by a blizzard tonight.

Whether or not Jeff Bell comes from behind to win the New Jersey Senate race, he deserves credit for having run a classy, ideas-focused race. That's epitomized by his "closing argument," reproduced below. If a majority of New Jersey voters actually read this email, I do think Bell would win. The…

The Obama administration is suddenly a champion of states' rights when it comes to the Ebola quarantine controversy.

In the latest wave of the New York Times/CBS/YouGov poll, Cory Booker leads Jeff Bell 51-39.

Jeff Bell used to email us to pitch articles for THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Now he emails asking for help for a TV buy in his New Jersey Senate race.

Federal authorities are investigating possible corruption in a Newark government agency that was chaired by Democratic senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. The New York Post has the story:

New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, leads his Republican challenger Jeff Bell by just nine points in a new poll from the Stockton Polling Institute. The survey of likely voters found 48 percent supporting Booker and 39 percent supporting Bell. The results show the race tightening from the…

A new ad from the conservative American Principles Fund targets New Jersey senator Cory Booker, saying the Democrat is a crooked pol who uses his power to "enrich himself."

George Will's column on New Jersey Senate candidate Jeff Bell:

The new Quinnipiac poll of the New Jersey Senate contest shows Jeff Bell only 11 points down to Cory Booker, 51 to 40 percent, among likely voters. It goes without saying that a race can move a dozen points in the final five weeks of a campaign—especially when a little known challenger (but one…

A new poll of the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey reveals an astonishing trend: Cory Booker, the state's Democratic senator running for a full term this fall, frequently polls below 50 percent support against his Republican challenger, Jeff Bell. The latest survey from Fairleigh Dickinson University…

Teaneck, N.J.

At the Washington Post, Christopher Ingraham demonstrates through one chart "why it feels like the recession never ended." Here's the chart, with part of Ingraham's explanation below:

Do Washington Republicans smell blood in New Jersey? The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP's Senate campaign apparatus, issued a press release Wednesday knocking New Jersey's Democratic senator Cory Booker for being a "tax & spend liberal."

Things are getting more expensive, and the American people know it. A new poll from Rasmussen Reports found three-quarters of Americans say they are concerned about inflation, with 81 percent saying they are paying more for groceries and 71 percent saying they expect to pay even more for groceries…

Matthew Continetti, writing at the Washington Free Beacon, calls Republican Senate candidate Jeff Bell of New Jersey the "most interesting candidate in the world." Here's an excerpt:

At National Review Online, Eliana Johnson has a piece documenting many of the unanswered questions about the life and career of New Jersey senator Cory Booker. Johnson provides this example for how the Democratic senator's stories about himself don't always add up:

Republican challenger Jeff Bell trails incumbent New Jersey senator Cory Booker by just 10 points, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac. Among registered voters in the Garden State, just 47 percent say they support Booker, the Democrat who won a special election to the Senate last fall and is…

The New York Post notes a poll released last week that shows Cory Booker, New Jersey's Democratic senator up for reelection this November, with "strikingly soft" support ahead of November:

In a new editorial, the New York Post notes the odds are stacked against New Jersey's Jeff Bell, the Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic senator Cory Booker:

Democratic senator Cory Booker of New Jersey won a special election last November with 55 percent of the vote, but the former mayor of Newark is now under 50 percent against a little-known Republican challenger, according to a new poll. Rasmussen Reports finds in a survey of likely voters in New…

In the March 10 WEEKLY STANDARD, we wrote ("Get Off the Sidelines," TWS March 10, 2014):  

Big news: Up in New Jersey, Jeff Bell is running for the Senate.

“No one can or should sit on the sidelines.” —Hillary Clinton, at the University of Miami, February 26, 2014 Hillary Clinton is right. Well, partly right. Her characteristic disregard for personal freedom and her instinctive love of the nanny state lead her to say that no one can sit on the…

In our November 25, 2013, issue, Jonathan V. Last chronicled the story of Ocean Grove, the New Jersey shore town which was being denied FEMA relief funds to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy. The problem was that Ocean Grove was originally settled as a Methodist campsite and that the town remains…

1.) So just how bad is this George Washington Bridge traffic incident?

Amiri Baraka, New Jersey’s controversial one-time poet laureate, died yesterday, aged 79. The poet, essayist, and playwright’s body of work will be remembered, if at all, as among the least humane in the history of American letters. An early 9/11 denier—a notorious 2002 poem suggested Jews were…

The former top political advisor to President Barack Obama says that Chris Christie will live to "fight another day," if he's telling the truth. Axelrod made the comment in a tweet.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie said today at a press conference that he's "a sad guy standing here today":

Chris Christie will face the press today at 11 a.m. in Trenton, New Jersey. He'll address to growing bridge traffic controversy.

Ocean Grove, N.J.

The governorship of Virginia has been held by some of the most eminent men in American history: Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Randolph, Henry Lee, James Monroe. And now, Terry McAuliffe will sit in their chair. Depressing? Perhaps, but it is worth remembering that for about half a…

Morris Plains, N.J.

The least interesting thing that happened in the odd-year election was Chris Christie’s reelection as governor of New Jersey. It was like a football game between Alabama and Vassar: A Republican governor with extraordinary political skills and an impressive record in his first term crushes a…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with executive editor Fred Barnes recapping the 2013 elections in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and across the country.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a Republican, is on his way to winning big in his bid for reelection Tuesday, and there's already talk he may be on his way to running for president in three years. Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper, Christie argued he's not a moderate as he's sometimes portrayed.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie is practically coasting toward reelection next week. The latest Real Clear Politics average of polls show a race that isn't even close. On Tuesday, just a year after Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, the Republican spoke in Sea Bright, on the Jersey…

In his concession speech to Senator-elect Cory Booker in Bridgewater, N.J., on election night, Steve Lonegan announced that he would retire from elective politics and enter private business, rather than mount another U.S. Senate race against Booker next year or return to his post as New Jersey…

Cory Booker, the Democratic mayor of Newark, has defeated Republican Steve Lonegan in New Jersey's special election for the U.S. Senate Wednesday night. The Associated Press called the race for Booker just after 9:30 pm.

A five-minute tirade recently unleashed by a Newark resident against Mayor Cory Booker may not have surprised anyone had it remained a local TV news clip. “We are hurting here, this crime is killing us, blood runs on our streets,” the woman moaned to a reporter, responding to a late-summer murder…

Maggie Haberman reports on Cory Booker's "lackluster campaign" for U.S. Senate:

Cory Booker, the Newark mayor and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in New Jersey, has an 12-point lead over his Republican opponent, former Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. Here's more from the Bergen County Record:

In a plea for bipartisanship at building ribbon-cutting ceremony, Chris Christie said, "I may be the only damn Republican here."

New Jersey governor Chris Christie launched his first general election campaign ad Thursday. The 30-second spot touts the Republican's achievements in his first term, including "four balanaced budgets," cuts to "wasteful spending," a property tax cap, and "the most education funding--ever." Watch…

To the surprise of nobody, Cory Booker cruised to victory in the New Jersey primary.   He will almost certainly next win a general election and become a United State senator, a job that doesn't seem quite large enough for the man but, then, he is still young.  Booker may soon be the junior senator…

Cory Booker, the Democratic mayor of Newark and a candidate in October's special election for Senate in New Jersey, has raised $4.6 million in campaign funds for the second quarter. USA Today has the story:

Barbara Buono, the Democratic candidate for governor in New Jersey, released an ad today attacking Republican governor Chris Christie’s eating habits.

As the Supreme Court finished its term, we looked ahead to see which big cases the justices have taken for review starting in the fall. And lo, Township of Mount Holly, New Jersey, et al. v. Mount Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, et al. caught our eye.

An email "From the Stop Chris Christie Team," which is "Paid For By Barbara Buono for Governor," Christie's Democratic opponent, sounds a bit panicked.

Chris Christie said he doesn't know and doesn't care what the cost of the New Jersey special election will be:

The New York Times reports today that New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a Republican, is considering setting a special election for the vacant New Jersey Senate seat ahead of the already scheduled November election. This move, as the Times reports, could cost around $24 million: 

While traveling to New Jersey today, President Barack Obama stiffed the Democratic opponent of Republican governor Chris Christie. Obama did not meet privately with Barbara Buono, the Democratic candidate. But he did walk along the Jersey Shore boardwalk with Christie.

Some arcade games today on the Jersey Shore with Barack Obama and Chris Christie. Via Mark Knoller and Ed Henry: 

Jay Carney told the press aboard Air Force One that President Barack Obama respects New Jersey governor Chris Christie and his efforts. Via the pool report:

Last night on a New Jersey radio station, Chris Christie delivered an ode to mediocre rocker Bruce Springsteen:

If Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey is found guilty of traveling to the Dominican Republic to engage in sexual intercourse with underage prostitutes, he could face up to 30 years prison. The appropriate law, which would seem to apply in this instance, is the Prosecutorial Remedies And Other Tools…

If Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey either steps down or is removed from office, Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, will get the chance to choose his replacement.

The FBI has raided the West Palm Beach office of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a local doctor with close ties to New Jersey Democratic senator Bob Menendez. The Miami Herald first reported the story Tuesday night:

Frank Lautenberg, the 88-year-old New Jersey senator, suggested that Newark mayor Cory Booker needs a "spanking" for threatening to run for the Senate seat he holds.

The feds ordered the arrest of an "llegal immigrant and registered sex offender" working for Senator Bob Menendez to be delayed until after the November election. 

Chris Christie received high marks in a new poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University and Public Mind Poll.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has accepted the endorsement of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), according to an announcement from the Republican's reelection campaign. The organization "is one of the largest unions in the state, representing over 20,000 laborers across…

A reporter today asked the White House why folks in New Jersey and New York still don't have power "weeks" after Hurricane Sandy:

It has been a little more than a month since Hurricane Sandy made landfall and pounded the Atlantic shores of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Within hours, government big dogs, the president included, were on the scene promising speedy and comprehensive relief. When they left to attend to…

Here's a video calling attention to how President Obama abandoned those who are recovering from Hurricane Sandy to go back on the campaign trail:

President Barack Obama invoked the destructiveness of Hurricane Sandy--and the ensuing clean-up--in his campaign stop earlier today in Wisconsin.

Charlotte

St. Petersburg

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren claimed at an event in 2011 that she was the "first nursing mother" in New Jersey to take that state's bar exam. The Boston Herald reports:

A new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University shows New Jersey governor Chris Christie at a record-high 56 percent approval within the state. NJ.com reports:

Christian Heinze reports on the latest Monmouth University, showing that New Jersey Republican governor Chris Christie remains popular at home: 

In an address recently delivered to an AIPAC audience in New York, New Jersey governor Chris Christie articulated a responsible view of America’s role in the world, stressing the importance of us standing by our friends and taking action against our adversaries.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has been perhaps the most visible campaign surrogate for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, making the case that Romney is the most electable Republican in the race and pushing hard for the man he endorsed after declaring, once again and finally, that he…

Exeter, N.H.

A new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University finds that New Jersey governor Chris Christie has a 54 percent job approval rating in his state, with 36 percent disapproving. These numbers are better for Christie than when the pollster last asked the question in May of this year. Then, only 44…

New Jersey governor Chris Christie talks to the press about what Americans want in a president (via Real Clear Politics):

A striking image on the front page of New Jersey's largest newspaper, the Star-Ledger:[img nocaption float="center" width="404" height="640" render="<%photoRenderType%>"]15195[/img]

The Newark Star-Ledger recently published a lengthy article portraying the state’s “unregulated” homeschoolers as wide-eyed fringers, not on the opinions page but as straight-facts reporting. When I emailed the editor to protest, he replied (and later courteously gave me permission to quote): “We…

So, uh, this happened yesterday. In case you were wondering about how to shut up the confrontational Christie, you might try calling him "hot and sexy":

Well, it was inevitable. Chris Christie was becoming more well-liked by the American people than any GOP politician rightfully should be. Thank goodness the Paper of Record is around to cut him down to size. We wouldn't want him to have a credible chance of running for president and defeating Obama…

In this week's New York Times magazine, Matt Bai has a 6500-word profile on New Jersey Governor Christie.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie appeared this morning on NBC's "Today Show" to discuss his budget and state employees:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie presented his budget for fiscal year 2012, challenging the state legislature to adopt his proposed $29.4 billion plan that would feature business tax cuts, property tax relief, pension reform, and a slight bump in education spending.

Republican New Jersey governor Chris Christie is in Illinois today to try to convince businesses to leave that state for his. Christie’s argument is simple: Come to New Jersey for lower tax rates; stay in Illinois for higher taxes. 

The silly outrage in New Jersey is continuing to grow. Here's what happened: It snowed while New Jersey Republican governor Chris Christie is in Disney World, lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno is on "vacation" in Mexico, and state Senate president, Democrat Stephen Sweeney, has been acting-governor.

Jen Rubin makes the sensible case that, because all the potential GOP presidential candidates have weaknesses, a newcomer could have a real opening in the 2012 presidential election. Among others, Rubin suggests that Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, and Mike Pence might have a chance.

Republican governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is on vacation -- he's with his family in Disney World. And, it turns out, his lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, is also on vacation, somewhere outside of New Jersey. So who's in charge of New Jersey? Senate president Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat. 

Republican governor Chris Christie doesn't mince words when he calls out Parsippany school superintendent Lee Seitz for his attempt to turn a pay cut into a pay raise:

In New Jersey, former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman and Republican Jon Runyan has defeated Democratic Rep. John Adler by over 6,000 votes. Runyan will represent the Third District in central New Jersey.

If all goes well for Republicans in the midterm elections, they’ll capture the House and maybe the Senate, having revealed few specifics of what they might do in the next Congress. This makes sense. It’s the Chris Christie strategy.

The Courier-Post has a blockbuster story this morning about the NJ-3 race between Democratic incumbent John Adler and Republican Jon Runyan.It seems that the third candidate in the race, an unknown named Peter DeStefeno, who is running on the "NJ Tea Party" line, is actually a Democratic plant.…

New Jersey's governor, Chris Christie, is the kind of guy that doesn't take anything from anyone. He's no nonsense. He's blunt. Sometimes gruff, not always smooth, but always himself.