EDITOR'S NOTE: Some random questions before Tuesday's primary.

Are the onslaught of nasty ads going to hurt Rebecca Bennett in CD-7?

The guess here is yes, but the question is by how much. The only polls out there - and there are not very many - give Bennett a double digit lead over her three competitors - Michael Roth, Brian Varela and Tina Shah.

Which is why she is being attacked.

And the attacks have been relentless. They're coming from two sides - a presumed Republican PAC called Real Change and from fellow Democrat Shah.

A mailing that hit Monday displayed a doctored photo of a smiling Bennett in a red MAGA cap.

That's the argument. She is really a Republican who will not stand up to ICE.

Negative ads do work, but then again, there is a limit, no?

The feeling here is that after a while, voters get tired and tend to ignore them. There also is the probability that a lot of voters realize how absurd the anti-Bennett campaign is.

She is not a Republican and she does not support ICE.

The absurdity of the charges, of course, can end up helping Bennett. Meaning, if a Republican PAC is working so hard against her, she must be pretty good.

But what if they do hurt her?

In that case, which other candidate benefits?

An obvious answer would be Shah, who is hurling some of the attacks herself. Her anti-Bennett pieces also urge voters to support her.

But it's not that simple.

The Real Change PAC is just telling voters not to support Bennett. It says nothing about any of the other candidates.

That means all three other candidates can benefit even if they are not mentioned.

Roth and Varela in some ways are fighting for the same progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Hard to see an obvious, objective reason why one would choose Varela over Roth or the other way around. One presumes it comes down to personalities.

As for Shah, you have to feel that the highly negative tone she has taken in the last two weeks of this campaign may turn some voters off - even if they are not impressed by Bennett.

How about Tom Kean Jr?

Kean is the star of the show here even if he is nowhere to be found.

It is now about 10 days since Kean called Republican chairs in the six counties that make up CD-7 with a direct message:

He's doing better and plans to be back in action soon.

The word "soon," of course, is subject to interpretation.

What makes Kean's silence more newsworthy is the simple fact he is on the primary ballot where he will be officially renominated.

Just how Kean navigates the general election remains to be seen. Even in normal, or shall we say, usual times, Kean is not the type of politician who enjoys mixing with the general public.

How about CD-11?

Mikie Sherrill's old district was the talk of the state's political universe four months ago when Analilia Mejia beat 10 others to win the party's nomination. She is now in Congress after winning an April 16 special election.

A rematch between Mejia and Republican Joe Hathaway is on tap for November, and Hathaway is getting started already.

He dispatched a release over the weekend attacking Mejia for "refusing to condemn the violent rioters who have attacked law enforcement officers in Newark, even as leading New Jersey Democrats have acknowledged that the violence is dangerous and unacceptable."

Doesn't Mejia have primary challengers?

Yep, she does. One of them, Justin Strickland, ran unsuccessfully in February.

Another challenger is Donald Cresitello, the former mayor of Morristown.

Cresitello on Monday said that some of his campaign signs in Morristown were stolen. And he even presented visual proof.

It is understood that candidates pay for their signs and that they should not be taken down. But let's be candid, this ain't a capital offense.

Put another way, the first campaign sign ever stolen was probably the first one ever put up.