Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) Chairman Amy DeGise sized up today’s Quinnipiac University Poll, the evaporation of a 17-point lead for her candidate and hometown ally U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) over Republican challenger Bob Hugin, and said it’s motivating.

“Polls can be useful but never definitive, as we found out in 2016,” the HCDO Chair told InsiderNJ. “In this case, we can use this to make the case for how much we have to lose and how scary it would be with a Republican senator.

“We are not comfortable with this lead,” DeGise added. “It puts more fire under our butts. We’re not happy but Hudson will use that as motivation.”

The party has a scheduled gala on Sept 6th. DeGise expects the attendance of all elected officials.

“We’re going to rally the troops for Bob and give Bob the stage to tell his story,” she said. “The county committee people will lay the groundwork. We have a responsibility to remind people of what’s at stake, and of what people would be getting with Bob Hugin, a pharmaceutical company CEO whose greed propelled him to create a slush fund of money hidden to avoid taxes, and contributions to Trump. Our committee people will be on the front lines of that fight.”

DeGise said Hugin started the mudslinging.

And promised that Menendez will close the show.

“When Menendez starts explaining his record it will totally debunk Hugin,” the chairman said.