(Asbury Park) -- It was a damp, dreary day in Asbury Park but despite mother nature's bluster, there was an air of anticipation about town. Chris Christie will soon be gone and voters in Asbury Park are anticipating Phil Murphy's (likely) victory party at 8pm at the Asbury Hotel. There's a VIP party at 6pm and I'll try to crash that one for sure.  Failing that, I'll hang with the Planned Parenthood gang who are hosting a pre-victory party shindig of their own. After 8 years under a Governor who wanted to control the outcome of every pregnancy in America, Planned Parenthood supporters are especially keen to see Murphy vanquish his GOP rival, Kim Guadagno.

At 4PM, I grabbed a quick bite at the Asbury hotel lobby and was immediately struck by a very heavy New Jersey State police presence. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that this place was on lockdown. While waiting for my food to arrive, I encountered a half dozen or so democratic operatives blowing off nervous energy in the hotel lobby. Some were playing pool, while others were frantically checking their smart phones for the latest nuggets from the field. Others were just enjoying a moment of relative calm before tonight‘s crush of events.

All these campaigners here today wore the same exhausted look coupled with frantic anticipation. They’ve all been working long days, eating lots of cold pizza, and generally burning the candle at both ends. I recognize that look because I’ve worn it myself in previous elections. Campaign work is grueling stuff, surely not for the faint of heart. Some will taste victory later as others court defeat.

By roughly 5:30pm my inbox was teeming with frantic message to GOTV. The umpteenth time I've been reminded to vote since I actually voted earlier today in Cherry Hill. I was getting antsy. It was time to head out into the Cold November Rain.