On Halloween, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin raced through rural New Jersey on his way to Morris County and a scheduled meeting with Mikie Sherrill volunteers.

“The DNC has invested $3.5 million, a lot of time and energy in New Jersey,” he told InsiderNJ in a telephone interview. “The DNC has never invested this much money in New Jersey. This is such a critical race. We’ve heavily invested, with the state party, and with the [Sherrill] campaign, to make sure we win.”

With time ticking down, a day before a rally for Sherrill with Barack Obama, he aims at all GOTV activities, reengaging voters and building direct voter contact.

“Mikie Sherrill has always been focused on New Jersey and New Jerseyans,” Martin said. “That’s been the core of her message from day one. That’s why she will implement a state of emergency on day one and freeze energy costs. That’s why she’s focused on creating more affordable housing and education opportunities, to make sure kids have a fighting shot to get ahead. That’s why she’s focused on the economy, to give folks a chance to get ahead.”

Sherrill’s opponent, Republican nominee for governor Jack Ciattarelli, is focused elsewhere, Martin added.

“He’s focused on Donald Trump,” said the DNC Chairman. “He’s focused on a President who terminated the Gateway Tunnel costing, 100k good construction jobs at a time when jobs are few and far to come by. He’s focused on kissing Donald Trump’s ass. That’s the difference in this race. You need someone who’s going to fight for New Jerseyans, and that’s Mikie Sherrill.”

Formerly the chair of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party, Martin said Sherrill did a better job in the campaign speaking directly to the needs of workers. “You can tell in the conversations, with construction workers getting up every day, breaking their backs, they’re frustrated with folks like Trump playing politics in Washington with critical infrastructure projects. Mikie has gotten a lot of their support as a result.

“There’s no greater fighter for New Jersey than Mikie Sherrill, who will create jobs for people trying to work their way up the economic ladder,” Martin added. “There’s a clear contrast here. Mikie has focused on a positive vision, while Jack has gone around bashing and attacking. That’s what people do who are about to lose.”

Asked for his reaction to the Trump Administration’s irregular move to install elections monitors in Passaic County, the DNC chairman said, “They’re obviously doing that in a county with a high percentage of Latino voters. We know what they’re trying to do. They’re trying to create fear. They’re initiating voter suppression and creating fear. We’re not going to allow them to do that. We’ll make sure we are monitoring them. Democrats will be there to protect people’s right to vote. You have nothing to fear when you show up to vote, when you show up to exercise your right to vote. Your vote will be protected.”

Martin said he likes what he sees early in the VBM totals, which today favor Democrats by about 230,000.

“Those numbers give me a positive sense that things will end well,” he told InsiderNJ. “If you look at those numbers and compare them to 2021 [when Democrat Phil Murphy eked out a three-point win over Ciattarelli], we are running ahead of where we were then. Mikie has created a higher firewall and banked far more votes, which will help us on Election Day. Republicans tend to vote on Election Day. Democrats tend to vote early as well as on Election Day. The higher that firewall is, the steeper the hill is for Republicans to climb. It’s no guarantee. We still have to turn out our votes. We have work to do. But all things point to Mikie winning. I’d rather be in our place than his.”

With that, Martin turned his attention to connecting with Sherrill volunteers on the ground in Morristown.