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Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg leads Republican challenger Dick Zimmer by seven percentage points in New Jersey’s U.S. Senate race. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Garden State finds Lautenberg on top 49% to 42%. That’s closer than the race was last month, but Lauternberg continues to hover right around the 50% level of support. Incumbents who poll below 50% are generally considered potentially vulnerable, and the New Jersey senator is the only Democrat in that category at the moment.

AVON, N.J. (AP) — With oil and gas drilling heating up as an issue in the presidential race, environmentalists and the governor reiterated their opposition to tapping reserves off the state's coast, saying it would endanger the environment and the tourism industry on which New Jersey is so dependent.

TRENTON, N.J. - Two presidential race polls out Tuesday indicate Republican John McCain has cut into Barack Obama's lead in New Jersey. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, McCain has narrowed his 10-point gap of a month ago to just 3 percentage points among likely voters, with 48 percent saying they favor Obama to 45 percent supporting McCain. A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll has Obama's lead at 8 percentage points among likely voters, down from 14 points in July. In the most recent poll, Obama leads McCain 49 percent to 41 percent, with McCain having picked up 5 percent...

A new poll shows that U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) enjoys a comfortable lead over Republican challenger Dick Zimmer heading into the fall election season. The Fairleigh Dickinson-PublicMind poll has Lautenberg leading, 46 percent to 35 percent, with Zimmer struggling to get his name known to the electorate. About 41 percent of respondents say they haven't heard of the former New Jersey congressman. Poll director Peter Woolley says Zimmer's name recognition may be suffering because of the attention given to the presidential election drama. Lautenberg is known to nine out of 10 New Jersey voters polled. The telephone poll...

With 15 electoral votes up for grabs in New Jersey, 47 percent of registered voters in the state said they support Sen. Barack Obama for president while 40 percent said they back Sen. John McCain in the presidential race, according to a new Marist College Institute for Public Opinion poll. (Snip) However, Obama’s lead shrinks when looking at likely voters, including those who are leaning toward a specific candidate.

Presidential Race in New Jersey • Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Leads Republican Opponent John McCain by 7 Percentage Points in New Jersey: With 15 electoral votes up for grabs in New Jersey, 47% of registered voters in the state say they support Senator Barack Obama for president while 40% say they back Senator John McCain. That’s the same margin in New Jersey with which former Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry beat President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. However, Obama’s lead shrinks when looking at likely voters, including those who are leaning toward a specific candidate. 48%...

This Marist Poll reports: Presidential Race in New Jersey · Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Leads Republican Opponent John McCain by 7 Percentage Points in New Jersey: With 15 electoral votes up for grabs in New Jersey, 47% of registered voters in the state say they support Senator Barack Obama for president while 40% say they back Senator John McCain. That’s the same margin in New Jersey with which former Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry beat President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. However, Obama’s lead shrinks when looking at likely voters, including those who are leaning toward...

Former congressman Dick Zimmer, the Republican nominee for New Jersey’s U.S. Senate seat, continues to have difficulty gaining electoral traction. According to the latest poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind, 41% of voters say they haven’t heard of Zimmer and another third (33%) say they have no opinion of him. Frank Lautenberg, the Democratic incumbent, leads Zimmer among likely voters by 46% to 35%.

Republican Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin got a Jersey bounce following the widely viewed Republican nominating convention but continue to trail Democratic Sen. Barack Obama in the Garden State. The latest results from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind poll show Obama leading among likely voters by 47% to 41%....For the first time since April 2005 a majority of voters (52%) say the U.S. military effort in Iraq is going “fairly well” or “very well.” Nearly one-third of Democrats agree, as well as a majority of independents, and four of five Republicans.

Presidential Nominee Vows To Fight Back Against Character Attacks Better Than John Kerry Did In '04 MIDDLETOWN, N.J. (AP) ― Unlike his Republican opponent, Democrat Barack Obama is still raising money for his presidential campaign, and he turned Friday to rock legend Jon Bon Jovi for help. Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea, hosted more than 100 people for dinner on their mansion lawn by the Navesink River in Middletown, N.J. The price was $30,800 a person, to be divided between the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. snip "We're not going to be bullied, we're not going to...

Obama: ‘I Don’t Believe in Coming in Second’ By Jeff Zeleny MIDDLETOWN, N.J. – For Senator Barack Obama, the television image of his day on Friday took place on the floor of a glass manufacturing plant in the small Pennsylvania town of Duryea. But by nightfall, he was a world away from that scene, as he arrived here for a pair of high-dollar fund-raisers. The singer Jon Bon Jovi and a nearby neighbor hosted back-to-back events for Mr. Obama. While his message was largely the same – criticizing Republicans for their convention message – he steeled his supporters for a...

Barack Obama is ahead of John McCain 48% to 40% in New Jersey, up slightly from last month but identical to his lead in June, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state. When “leaners” are included, Obama’s lead expands to 10 percentage points, 52% to 42%.

Democrat Frank Lautenberg, seeking a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, can breathe a little easier this month. The incumbent leads Republican challenger Dick Zimmer 49% to 36% in the latest Rasmussen reports telephone survey in New Jersey. When “leaners” are included, Lautenberg leads the Republican 50% to 37%. Last month, the two candidates were virtual tied, with Lautenberg on top by just a single percentage point. That poll was taken just days after Lautenberg survived a primary challenge that raised questions about whether he was too old to serve. Still, while the new poll provides better news for the...

The gap between the two major presidential contenders has narrowed to 5% in New Jersey, as some of Barack Obama’s support appears to have slipped off into the undecided column over the past month. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of New Jersey voters, taken Monday night, shows Obama ahead of Republican candidate John McCain 44% to 39%.

Why blame John McCain for basing his regional headquarters in Woodbridge, N.J., instead of the news capital of the nation, New York City? Some consider this pass a snub. I think it's the smart thing to do. Why waste time in this liberal-dominated town where voters support Democrats who do nothing but raise taxes to fund worthless programs? When did we become so gullible? I'm using the editorial "we" out of politeness, but I'm a native New Yorker who never voted for President Carter, Governor Spitzer, or any of the Democrats gumming up the New York State Assembly. I'm not...

NEW YORK (AP) -- John McCain rolled into New Jersey for a town hall-style meeting Friday, declaring the Garden State "winnable" in November and criticizing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing Guantanamo prisoners to challenge their detentions in federal court. McCain, a former Vietnam POW, called Thursday's Supreme Court ruling "one of the worst I've seen," saying the decision compromises the military's ability to defend the country by giving constitutional rights to non-U.S. citizens. "These are enemy combatants, they're not citizens, and they've now been granted rights which I don't think was ever contemplated by any of us following the...

New Jersey U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg leads former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, his Republican challenger, 47 - 38 percent in his reelection bid, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today, but most voters say Sen. Lautenberg is too old to begin another six-year term. Democrats back Lautenberg 80 - 11 percent, while Republicans back Zimmer 79 - 13 percent and independent voters back the Republican 43 - 35 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. New Jersey voters approve 46 - 35 percent of the job Lautenberg is doing, his highest disapproval in 12 years of surveys. Democrats...

Senator McCain says New Jersey is a "winnable" state in his quest for the presidency. The Republican presidential candidate says he'll spend time and money campaigning in New Jersey. He says he expects to be competitive here against rival Senator Obama. Mr. McCain talked about the high price of gasoline, doubling federal tax credits for families and bringing American troops home with honor during a town hall meeting at Burlington County College in Pemberton on today. This is Mr. McCain's third public visit to the state this year, a sign that the Arizona senator thinks he can win in Democratic-leaning...

CNN's Lou Dobbs isn't talking about rumours that he's thinking about running for governor of New Jersey. Dobbs lives on a 300-acre farm in Sussex County. Dobbs told The Star-Ledger of Newark he's "not going to comment.'' State Republican chairman Tom Wilson tells the newspaper the Dobbs' buzz is circulating among GOP officials and fundraisers in New York City and Washington. Wilson says the first thing Dobbs should do is register as a Republican. The CNN host switched from the GOP to an independent in 2006. Dobbs gained fame hosting "Moneyline.'' Gov. Jon S. Corzine became a multimillionaire on Wall...

emocrat Frank Lautenberg, seeking a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, is in a virtual tie with Republican challenger Dick Zimmer in New Jersey, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. Forty-five percent (45%) of likely voters in the predominantly Democratic state favor Lautenberg, while 44% are backing Zimmer, a former U.S. congressman who is running as a fiscal conservative. The survey was taken 24 hours after Lautenberg, capturing over 60% of the vote, easily defeated another congressman, Robert Andrews, in the state's Democratic primary. Andrews, 50, who was endorsed by most of the state's newspapers, had aggressively attacked...