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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced the state will lift the indoor mask mandate ahead of Memorial Day weekend but lectured New Jerseyans, warning it is “not a license to be a knucklehead.” Beginning Friday, May 28, the state will lift the indoor mask mandate, although businesses will be able to require customers and employees to wear a face-covering in their respective establishments if they so choose.

Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matthew Brooks commented today on a post-election poll done by McLaughlin & Associates in New Jersey on November 3 and 4, 2009: "Recently released post-election poll results from New Jersey show that Republican Chris Christie won 38% of the Jewish vote this year in his run for governor. We are pleased by Christie's strong showing in the Jewish community in a very close race. [Click here to download a memo of the poll results.] "The Jewish community was a key battleground in this election, with both Republicans and the Democrats actively campaigning for Jewish support....

Everybody and their brother thinks that New Jersey is going to go down to the wire. But one of my readers is plugged in to a New Jersey Democrat, and this guy's running of the numbers goes to Republican Chris Christie winning by one percentage point. Admission against interest, and all that. Take it for what it's worth. 11/03 08:18 PM

This seems pretty darn big: In New Jersey, CNN's exit poll says Christie won independents 58-33 over Corzine, with indies making up 27 percent of the electorate. Public Policy Polling notes that their final poll had Christie winning the independents by 23; the exit polls indicate Christie won them by 25. They interpret this as a sign that most Daggett supporters and undecideds went into the Christie pile. PPP's final poll put Christie up 6 overall. 11/03 07:48 PM

  I'm passing these two observations from liberal Virginia bloggers on to readers, but they're so out of line with expectations, I have a hard time buying them.First, from Not Larry Sabato, about the Virginia delegate races: "SIX SEATS ARE GONE — ANOTHER NINE ARE IN PLAY FOR GOP PICKUP." Yesterday I predicted a GOP gain of six seats; I think most Virginia Republicans saw picking up 11 as their best-case scenario.Then, from Blue Virginia: I'm a bit skeptical of this, so take it with as big a grain of salt as you'd like, but it's from an excellent source....

  From a reader: Thought I'd chime in. I've been working in Newark (biggest city in NJ, Dem stronghold) for the past 3 days, making calls, putting up signs, etc. The biggest thing going on today is no one here is going to the polls. In one polling place 49 votes were cast by 11 am, in contrast, at the same time last year, there were 378 votes cast. Unless people come out of the wood works in Newark, Christie may win this by 2-3 points regardless of Daggett. Speaking of Daggett, in my home county (Morris, Christie's base) Daggeett...

In New Jersey, Turnout Higher In GOP and Swing Districts Than In Democrats I want to preface this by noting that all of this is based only on the early voting, and is based on about a half-dozen polling places in every county in New Jersey; some known as historically Republican districts, some known as historically swing districts, and some known as historically Democratic districts. A trusted source tells me that as of noon, total turnout in the GOP the swing districts in NJ is significantly outpacing turnout in Democrat districts. The turnout ratio is not quite two to one,...

Christie leading by 13 points, 56-43.

Chicago Style dirty tricks have it New Jersey, the Democratic Party is waging a robocall campaign in support of the Independent Candidate for Governor Christopher Daggett trying to peel off votes from Republican Candidate Chris Christie and help incumbent Jon Corzine. Larry Powers, a Bridgewater resident and member of that town's Republican committee, said he got the same call today. Powers said he suspected Democrats are aiming the Daggett calls at Somerset County Republicans who may have been inclined to back Daggett or write in Steve Lonegan's name before Lonegan appeared with Christie at a rally in Flemington Saturday. Daggett...

The Democratic State Committee now admits paying for a robocall to Somerset County voters that slams Republican Chris Christie and promotes independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett. A Democratic spokeswoman says the party’s chairman, Joe Cryan, was not aware of the robocalls when he denied that the state committee had anything to do with them yesterday afternoon. Cryan, who told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday afternoon that the Democratic State Committee had “absolutely” nothing to do with the call, could not immediately be reached for comment. The call angered Republicans and further fueled conspiracy theories that Daggett is in cahoots with the Corzine camp....

New Jersey's independent, gubernatorial candidate, Chris Dagget, is on a roll. ... But Daggett faces a ballot problem. Not ballot access itself ... he's on the ballot ... It's ballot design. The ballot features the Democratic and Republican candidates first -- the order depends on a coin toss -- and the independent candidates, second. Pointing to political science literature on ballot order, Daggett claims that the placement of independent candidates below the major party candidates is plainly unconstitutional. The science isn't as clear cut: ballot order does, in certain low-information races, seem to influence voter decisions, but it competes with...

Democratic enthusiasm for President Barack Obama's liberal domestic agenda—particularly for a government-run health insurance program—could wane after the results of the gubernatorial elections next Tuesday in Virginia and New Jersey. GOP victories in either state will tell Democrats in red states and districts that support for Obama's policies is risky to their political health. The more significant is the open race for governor in Virginia, a purple state. The Washington Post poll released Monday showed 55% support for Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell and 44% for Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds. The president is trying to reverse these numbers by...

Anyone in his right mind would now have to rate next month’s gubernatorial election in New Jersey as a tossup. After all, virtually every poll shows the race within the margin of error, and some recent surveys show Gov. Jon Corzine (D) leading GOP challenger Chris Christie. Moreover, climbing out on a limb to give one of the candidates an advantage in a virtual dead heat isn’t the best way to guarantee that your percentage of “correct calls” remains high so that you can send out a press release after the elections to brag about how astute you are. But...

NJ FReepers, I need your expertise.

N.J. gov. outlines his agenda for the year By Alex Savvides / Correspondent Published: 12/8/2004 New Brunswick Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey outlined his agenda for the next 13 months Monday evening, saying his administration would look into raising minimum wage, getting more homeland security money, and increasing the number of jobs in the state. Codey and State Democratic Committee Chairwoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman addressed the audience of several hundred New Jersey Democrats in the Regency Ballroom of the New Brunswick Hyatt Regency hotel, promising large returns for the Democratic Party in November 2005. Codey added that increasing minimum wage is...

TRENTON, N.J. -- Republican businessman Doug Forrester, one of the state's several possible gubernatorial candidates, on Monday unveiled a media campaign pressing CBS to oust anchor Dan Rather. Forrester's campaign is to be waged on radio, television and the Internet starting Tuesday. Advertisements have been submitted to air in the Philadelphia and New York markets for the next several weeks on the major networks as well as cable channels, including CNN. CBS and Rather have been under fire for a reliance on apparently fake documents to suggest President Bush's National Guard service record was less than stellar. "Dan Rather is...

The first wife of New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey said yesterday she didn't know her ex was gay until last week. "He told me just before he went on TV," Kari Schutz said in a phone interview from British Columbia. Schutz described the call from her ex-husband as "difficult," although she declined to give details. But asked if she had any idea of her husband's sexual identity during their marriage, she said, "I never knew." The governor's second wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, also didn't learn her husband was gay until just days ago, sources said. One source said that McGreevey...