Jon Corzine has not exactly been a visible face on the state’s political scene of late.

That said, the former governor is scheduled to appear Monday evening at an Election Eve event in Flemington to benefit Sue Altman.

Corzine will be joined by former CD-7 Rep. Tom Malinowski, who is also the Democratic chair in Hunterdon County, and Andy Kim.

This is billed as the launch of the final Get Out The Vote effort of the Altman campaign.
On Saturday, Altman held a rally in Rahway – her third in this Union County town – that included Cory Booker

This is not a coincidence.

There are about 20,000 more registered Republicans in CD-7 than Democrats. The district ranges over six counties, including the very Republican bastions of Sussex and Warren.

Union County in general and Rahway in particular represent the most fertile ground for Democrats. So, Altman needs a big turnout there.

Back in 2022 when then-incumbent Malinowski lost to Tom Kean Jr., he did not do well enough in Union.

The thinking, or perhaps the spin, of some Dems is that many voters were not involved in that election because they did not know Rahway was in CD-7 after redistricting.

Previously it had been in the very Democratic leaning CD-10. So, voting in a House race was not that important.

This year. Team Altman wants to make sure voters far and wide know they live in the competitive CD-7, which explains the rallies in Rahway, where Altman also held a town hall.

* * *

As for Kean, in the waning days of the campaign, he’s been contending with some apparent hanky-panky.

His website links to a report and video of about 300 Kean campaign mailers ending up in a supermarket trash bin in Pennsylvania. The postal service is said to be investigating.

The video is kind of unclear, but you do see an individual – a purported post office employee – get out of a car and dump something. Presumably, supermarket employees checked the bin and found the Kean mailers.

“With so much at stake this year, Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. is up against a lot,” is what his campaign says about this.

Of course, even if true, politics may not be involved. The person who dumped the mailers may have just wanted to get rid of some political mail, regardless of who sent it.

It’s a serious violation, but maybe not an overtly political one.

* * *

So, what do the numbers say so far?

Republicans have made a concerted effort to get their supporters to vote by mail, or to vote early.

Looks like they met 50 percent of that goal.

Democrats are still winning the vote-by-mail game by almost 3-1 statewide, and by 2-1 in CD-7.

Early in-person voting is another story. The Dems hold a slight lead statewide – 418,000 to 400,000. But in CD-7, Republicans lead in this category by about 18,000 votes.

Keep in mind that there are more Republicans in CD-7 than Democrats.

And also keep in mind that if Altman wins, she is going to need much support from those registered as unaffiliated.

Some 57,000 of them in CD-7 have voted either by mail or early in-person.

They will decide things.

* * *

As for Kean and Altman, they already voted – early in-person.

It used to be common for candidates to trudge to the polls early on Election Day, sometimes trailed by family members and supporters.

Some Election Day color and a nice photo opportunity.

That tradition seems to be disappearing. A pity.