Menendez Overtakes Kyrillos to Retain Senate Seat

Republicans have conceded the senatorial seat to incumbent Robert Menendez.

As the ballots pour in from Sandy-ravaged New Jersey, Robert Menendez has emerged victorious in reclaiming his U.S. Senate seat against Republican challenger Joe Kyrillos. With just over half of polling districts reporting, state Republicans have conceded victory to Menendez. The U.S. senator leads 58 percent to 40 percent as of 10:30 p.m., according to CBS News. "Senator Joe Kyrillos ran a great campaign against very tough circumstances and despite the loss, his family, campaign team, and supporters should be very proud of their efforts," New Jersey Republican Chairman Sam Raia said in a statement late Tuesday night. "Joe represents the very best of New Jersey and has fought for his constituents faithfully from the day he took office and …

•  100 Comments
• Photos (1)

Bob Royal

1:57 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

While there are bad apples on both sides, at least Republicans do not mock purity, honor, and family values. Republicans are upset when their fellow Republicans fail to live up to those ideals. Democrats think it is all one big funny joke.   more ›

NJ Insiders Split Along Party Lines After Final Debate

Some 89 percent of Democrats gave Obama the debate win, while Republicans declared Romney the winner by the same margin.

New Jersey political insiders gave their candidates the edge on the final presidential debate. However, most believe President Barack Obama will be the consensus winner over Mitt Romney among national media outlets. According to a Patch flash poll sent to elected officials and political party insiders in New Jersey, 17 out of 19 Democrats responding believed Obama was the victor, while 16 out of 18 Republicans declared Romney the winner. “Gov. Romney's executive capabilities were on full display,” one Republican insider said. “This will energize the voters and clearly demonstrated that he will return America to being viewed as being professionally run as a business and ALL Americans are its clients.” Democrats were also impressed with …

•  154 Comments
• Photos (1)

L. Dellanno

7:45 pm on Tuesday, October 23, 2012

BellairBerdan, obama scares me so much more than ben laden did. It would have been better to capture him. obama has his KILL LIST. He has been been picking and choosing who to dill by drone attack. He's playing God when it comes to human lives. I can't thank obama for anything. I get no handouts! As for the economy, he had 4 years and put this country in a deeper hole.   more ›

Who Won the Debate? NJ Insiders Split Along Party Lines

However, over 80 percent believe President Obama will be declared the "consensus winner" by media outlets.

New Jersey political insiders declared their party’s candidate the winner of the second presidential debate Tuesday night. However, most believe President Barack Obama will be the consensus winner among national media outlets over Mitt Romney. According to a Patch flash poll sent to elected officials and political party insiders, 24 out of 27 Democrats responding believed Obama was the victor, while 20 out of 24 Republicans declared Romney the winner. “I think Romney had a better understanding and explanation of how to create jobs and grow the economy. He looked much more presidential,” one Republican said. The results of Patch’s second presidential debate poll of New Jersey insiders contrast with those from last week’s head-to-head, in …

•  625 Comments
• Photos (1)

Local

11:23 pm on Sunday, October 21, 2012

Romney'sPlan? he won't tell his Plan, try to get details from Ryan & Romney about their budget.   more ›

Senate Candidates Debate Economy, Health Care

Sen. Robert Menendez and State Sen. Joe Kyrillos held first of three debates at Montclair State University Thursday.

Sen. Robert Menendez and State Sen. Joe Kyrillos discussed the economy, health care and foreign policy in a combative debate Thursday. The candidates, who are competing for one of New Jersey's seats in the U.S. Senate, each claimed their own policies would prove to be more beneficial to the state's middle class families. Kyrillos, a Republican, has held a seat in the New Jersey Senate since 1992. Menendez, a Democrat and the incumbent, has held his current position since he was appointed by then-Gov. Jon Corzine in 2006. He previously served in the House of Representatives. Menendez said he would fight for the middle class by continuing to lead initiatives like creating tax credits for families and students. He also said he wanted to close…

•  42 Comments
• Photos (4)

Who Won the Debate? NJ Insiders Pick Romney

Presidential debate a 'disaster' for Obama, one Democrat says as both parties agree GOP challenger wins Round 1.

New Jersey political insiders agreed: Mitt Romney won Round 1 against President Barack Obama. According to a Patch flash poll immediately following Wednesday night's presidential debate in Denver, Colo., 63 percent of both Democratic and Republican respondents believed Romney was victorious. "This is a game-changer, especially in a close race," one Democratic respondent said. "Obama was definitely off his game." All 29 Republican respondents believed Romney won by either a wide or slim margin, while 11 of the 27 Democratic respondents agreed. "Mr. Romney taking the President to task regarding the misrepresentation of his tax plan," one Republican insider said of the moment that would stand out most among New Jersey conservatives. "Mr. …

•  892 Comments
• Photos (2)

Who Won The Presidential Debate?

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney duked it out in Denver, Colo.

President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney faced off in the first of three presidential debates Wednesday night. The debate was held at the University of Denver in Colorado. President Obama, 51, vying for his second term, was leading by four percentage points in a national poll over challenger Mitt Romney, 65, before the debate. However, political pundits and speculation on Huffington Post questioned whether the debate could change the standings. The candidates are expected to debate each other two more times - once on Oct. 16 and once on Oct. 22. The topics for those debates will be domestic policy on the 16th and foreign policy on the 22nd. Even a small bump from Wednesday night's domestic policy forum could make the …

•  154 Comments
• Photos (1)

VietNam Vet

12:31 am on Thursday, October 11, 2012

If you would open your eyes here you'd see that this idiot doesn't even care about the constitution anymore. He is acting more like a dictator than a Pres. he doesn't even listen to congress or the senate any longer. As far as business, I don't care if you do own a business, I had a few and I sold them there are many people that are hurting that have been in business for many years, so its not …   more ›

Obama Campaign Targeting Christie in NJ Survey

The New Jersey arm of the president's campaign has set up a website asking residents for feedback on Gov. Chris Christie.

An email circulated to New Jersey supporters of President Barack Obama is asking residents to "tell the truth" about Gov. Chris Christie, in anticipation of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's possible VP nod to the Jersey governor. The email, sent Wednesday morning by Jackie Cornell-Bechelli, New Jersey State Director of Obama for America, points its recipients to a website, where supporters can fill out a form detailing "what you think people need to know about Chris Christie." Christie has repeatedly waved off rumors that he would accept a vice-presidential nomination from Romney. On July 16 in Manasquan, Christie said he does not expect to be Romney's pick for vice president. "Hopefully (Romney) picks a smart, well-qualified person who'…

•  8 Comments
• Photos (1)

Searchable Databases

New Jersey 2012 Presidential Campaign Contributions

Search our interactive database to see how much your neighbors gave to Obama and Romney.

Patch has created an interactive database so you can see how much your neighbors are donating to the presidential campaign—and to which candidate they’re writing their checks. We’ve included communities across New Jersey, so if you want to see what the campaign contributions in nearby towns are like, go right ahead. The information in the database was downloaded from the Federal Election Commission’s website. The data is based on quarterly reports, and is current through July. The data will be updated in mid-October.

• Photos (1)

Clark-Garwood Election Guide

The candidates, incumbents and issues that will be affecting Clark and Garwood.

  As we look ahead to November’s elections, Clark-Garwood Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about political happenings in Clark, Garwood, Union County — and beyond. Here's our opening salvo in our coverage of the candidates and issues we'll be following as November draws near. Bookmark this page for updates. The biggest race in Clark will be for the mayorship. Councilman Rich Kazanowski (D) will attempt to unseat incumbent Sal Bonaccorso (R). Bonaccorso has served as mayor since 2000. Kazanowski has been involved in Clark politics since 1992, when he was appointed to fill a vacant council seat. He lost his place on council twice over the years, but has served consecutively since 2006. Kazanowski has never run for …

• Photos (2)