Fundraising in the New Jersey Elections 2010

Last fall, some of the air from Barack Obama’s election and inauguration was let out of the sails of Democrats in New Jersey with Republican Chris Christie defeating incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine in November.

Now the attention in the state turns towards November again when all of the U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for grabs. And with elections comes fundraising. Elections are driven by money and the person with the most is usually in the better position to claim victory. Most political observers would be quick to gather that New Jersey tends to lean Democratic for the most part. There are two Democrats in the U.S. Senators and eight out of the thirteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives are Democrats.

However, as is the trend thus far this year nationally, Republicans in New Jersey are generating more energy among their base. That fervor generally will lead to more money in the bank for candidates and that is the case in 2010. Democrats still hold the advantage in fundraising, but Republicans are catching up and have a Republican governor in their corner this year, which they haven’t had for some time now.

According to a report that was released by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, Democratic fundraising committees have raised $1.3 million compared to their Republican counterparts who have raised $858,724 in the first half of this year. That might seem optimistic to a Democratic observer, but compared to recent election cycles Democrats are raising less money while Republicans are raising more.

The higher fundraising and enthusiasm can certainly be credited to Christie being in the Governor’s Mansion. He has been aggressive in the first six months of his term and his agenda has certainly gotten a lot of conservatives and Republicans excited in New Jersey. Last year, the focus was on Christie and many of the state seats in New Jersey’s Congress. This year, Christie will be counted on to keep raising money through his nonprofit group, Reform Jersey Now, and through his public appearances. He is the leader of the party in the state and needs to assist those who aided his accent a year ago. Time will tell how much he and Republicans can do to change recent trends throughout the state going into the races this fall.

The races stack up as follows:

NJ-1: Incumbent Rob Andrews (D); Challenger Dale Glading (R).
NJ-2: Incumbent Frank LoBiondo (R); Challenger Gary Stein (D).
NJ-3: Incumbent John Adler (D); Challenger Jon Runyan (R).
NJ-4: Incumbent Chris Smith (R); Challenger Howard Kleinhendler (D).
NJ-5: Incumbent Scott Garrett (R); Challenger Tod Theise (D).
NJ-6: Incumbent Frank Pallone (D); Challenger Anna Little (R).
NJ-7: Incumbent Leonard Lance (R); Challenger Ed Potosnak (R).
NJ-8: Incumbent Bill Pascrell (D); Challenger Roland Straten (R). NJ-9: Incumbent Steve Rothman (D); Challenger Michael Agosta (R). NJ-10: Incumbent Donald Payne (D); Challenger Michael Alonso (R). NJ-11: Incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen (R); Challenger Douglas Herbert (D). NJ-12: Incumbent Rush Holt (D); Challenger Scott Sipprelle (R). NJ-13: Incumbent Albio Sires (D); Challenger Hennrietta Dwyer (R).

Of those races, only Adler against Runyan and Lance against Potosnak as of now look to be competitive to some degree. Pallone might get a bit more of challenge from Little as might Holt with Sipprelle, but the two Democrats seem to be fairly safe right now. Other than that, the incumbents have the most money regardless of party as well as being the incumbent in name and no matter the mood; they are on their way back to Washington, D.C.

Politics is a numbers game and much of that rests in the numbers with dollar signs in front of them. Democrats have lacked enthusiasm thus far, but have still held that fundraising edge. If they do not start to become motivated, Republicans are poised to past them in fundraising and open the door for state bragging rights and some momentum. However, the ultimate results are determined in November, where money at least in New Jersey might not play a major role in the outcomes after all.

http://www.examiner.com/article/fundraising-the-new-jersey-elections-2010