WHO’S UP

Cory Booker

All politics aside, InsiderNJ stands by the junior Senator from New Jersey, the target of an explosive device, which law enforcement officials intercepted, and which led to the arrest of a Florida man on Friday.

Doug Steinhardt

The NJGOP Chairman proved an emphatic, detail-oriented and uncompromising advocate for his U.S. Senate candidate at Wednesday night’s NJTV debate.

Jeff Van Drew

A Stockton Poll shows the Democratic nominee in CD-2 ($875,069 cash on hand) maintaining a strong, 17-point lead over Republican candidate Seth Grossman for the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2). Grossman also grotesquely stumbled at an NAACP debate (see below), causing retired FBI agent Robert “Turk” Turkavage, a CD-2 Republican Primary candidate, to publicly endorse Van Drew.

Mikie Sherrill

Forced to turn to President Donald J. Trump and Kellyanne Conway to fundraise, Republican CD11 candidate Jay Webber had a long way to go to catch his Democratic opponent: $139,535 to $2,666,973 COH. The surging Sherrill also received the endorsement of The Bergen Record.

Brigid Harrison

The Montclair University Political Science Professor conducted an excellent, in-depth interview with Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) this week, part of a Salon series co-sponsored by InsiderNJ and headed up by GM Pete Oneglia. The interview even broke some news.

Tom Malinowski

It’s not the most significant endorsement but it’s good for a headline in a tight contest. The Democratic challenger ($909,216 cash on hand) scored the endorsement of the Star-Ledger this week as he seeks to take out incumbent U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7) ($1.032,461 COH).

NO MAN’S LAND

Bob Hugin and Bob Menendez

It’s his first rodeo, and in that context, Bob Hugin exceeded expectations in his NJTV debate with incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ). He never stumbled, he didn’t appear to be nervous, and he spoke in a stentorian, sonorous tone. But he didn’t get overly specific, and spent the night trying to tell the audience that he’s an independent Republican with no ties to President Donald J. Trump. Given his history, that’s simply not credible. As for the incumbent, he looked worn. As usual, he had a strong command of facts, but it’s obvious that the last number of years in which he fought off federal corruption charges hobbled him, and produced less than the most robust version of Menendez.

It’s a close statewide contest.

Cook calls it a toss-up.

Former Celgene CEO Hugin spent $28 million so far and has $2.6 million COH, according to ELEC, to $1.8 million COH for Menendez.

Amid the ongoing air wars, an independent expenditure called Integrity NJ chucked $2 million into a late ad campaign for the challenger, while National Dems poured $2.8 million into Menendez.

Tom MacArthur and Andy Kim

A Monmouth University Poll this week showed the CD-3 incumbent ($918,162 cash on hand) and his Democratic challenger ($1,083,162 COH)  in a statistical tie.

WHO’S DOWN

John McCann

The financially disconnected GOP challenger to incumbent U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer ($32,564 COH compared to $5 million for the Dem) spent most of his debate with the incumbent this week complaining.

Rich Pezzullo

Whatever your position on guns, the CD-6 GOP nominee’s angry statement at his debate with incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone – “Guns are designed to put holes in people that need holes put in them” – was a truly ignorant statement and, at least by any rational measure, full of holes.

Harry Shortway

Bergen County Republican Organization Chairman Jack Zisa called out the Midland Park Mayor for breaking his word to other Bergen County Sheriff’s nominee hopefuls after he reportedly said he would back the winner of the special convention. “Basically, he lied to the county committee,” Zisa told InsiderNJ. And it wasn’t only the chairman, but the committee expressing irritation.

DeReal Finklin

The Plainfield man pleaded guilty to making a July death threat against U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4). Finklin posted numerous threatening messages next to a picture of Smith, including “Dead Man Walking.”

Nikula Lulaj and Majlinda Lulaj

An Ocean County jury found the Hoboken cop and his wife guilty of second-degree conspiracy, second-degree theft by deception, and six counts of fourth-degree unsworn falsification.

Seth Grossman

The CD-2 Republican ($124,144 cash on hand) at a public forum tried to make the case that Democrats were behind the time bomb parcels.

The Republic

Reports of time bombs sent to the political enemies of President Trump – including a suspicious package marked for U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) – revealed a hateful sickness in the country that the President blamed on the news media.