Insider NJ’s 2020 Election Day War Room (Updated 12:26pm: AP Calls CD2 For Van Drew)
Welcome to Insider NJ’s 2020 Election Day War Room, where we’ll keep you stocked throughout the day with information, links, and real-time updates from New Jersey’s local, county, and congressional races as well national information pertaining to the presidential race, specifically from key battleground states. We’ll also include any available results later on on Election Day when possible – but keep in mind, not all results may be finalized or otherwise even known by the end of night. We’ll keep you informed of the most up-to-date data when available.
12:26am: Jeff Van Drew has won the CD2 race, according to the AP:
BULLETIN (AP) — Jeff Van Drew, GOP, elected U.S. House, District 2, New Jersey.
8am: Former NJ Governor Christie on ABC called on President Trump to provide evidence to support his claims of voter fraud instead of ‘inflaming without informing’: “So if this stuff is going on that the President’s talking about, all of us want it ferreted out, because it would undercut everything that we believe in in our system. But as a prosecutor, that’s like asking me to indict someone without showing me any evidence. If you’re gonna say those things from behind the podium at the White House – it’s his right to do it, it’s his right to pursue legal action, but show us the evidence”
3pm: Is Kennedy’s possible defeat a sign of unhappiness in south Jersey with Murphy’s liberal politics? That question was posed to the governor today and he kind of swatted it away. “I’ve got no insights whether I played a role or whether I didn’t play a role,” he said.
12:28pm: In Morris County and LD25, the Democrats are ahead, but there’s a long way to go. An estimated 70,000 ballots remain to be counted in the Legislative race and more than 100,000 are still outstanding county-wide in the freeholder race.
7:52am: In CD2’s battleground still-too-close-to-call contest, Cumberland County’s results have been delayed, creating considerable consternation amid Kennedy’s lead there as she trails overall against incumbent GOP Rep. Van Drew. Kennedy inched closer, closing the gap to 6,000, with some VBMs still left to be counted (resuming on Friday) in Atlantic and Burlington counties. On Tuesday night, Van Drew had declared victory while Kennedy’s campaign said they ‘fully expect to win‘ and AC Dems Chair Suleiman called Van Drew’s announcement ‘presumptuous‘. With a big margin in Cape May County, Van Drew kept it close in Atlantic County and is ahead in Gloucester County.
7:51am: The outcome of the presidential race is still unknown and too-close-to-call, with several battleground states (PA, NC, GA, AZ, NV) still counting ballots as gaps narrow; former Vice President Joe Biden is closer to 270 electoral votes, while President Trump’s campaign is mounting legal challenges in several states.
5:15pm: Amy Kennedy closed the gap to 6,000; counting will resume on Friday.
2:19pm: The AP and CNN both project that Joe Biden will win Wisconsin, a critical battleground that President Trump won in 2016.
2:15pm: In contrast to the uncertainty that still hovers over the presidential race for many Democrats, Murphy said New Jersey Democrats had a “great” election day.
2:08pm: There is considerable consternation in South Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District at this moment, as voters await Cumberland County numbers – and suffer an as yet inexplicable election results-jamming delay in the vote tally.
11:36am: Who’s Up and Who’s Down in NJ Following the Election?
11:36am: CD11 Rep. Sherrill claimed victory Tuesday night and followed up this morning on a call with reporters. She said the preliminary returns showed that, “I was performing at a rate that makes me confident.”
11:07am: Lassiter: New Jersey voters have overwhelmingly chosen to amended the state’s constitution to permit adult-use cannabis. On a night when many state- and national races remain undecided, the tally to legalize cannabis in NJ was thoroughly decisive: 67%-33%
11:06am: Reacting to news reports that the Trump campaign was using the White House and Old Executive Office Building as a campaign command center and election day war room, last night U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) sent an urgent plea to United States Special Counsel Henry Kerner, demanding a federal probe.
11:05am: 235,940 is a new Burlington County record for voters participating in an election, surpassing 2008’s total of 224,740 voters
10:52am: Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien: “We are confident on our pathway. We are confident in our math. We are viewing some of these races as math equations,” campaign manager Bill Stepien said, adding, “We project with confidence because of the math we believe is in front of us.”
8:33am: From CNN: As of early Wednesday morning, it was still too close to call in Alaska, Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
2:22am: President Trump speaks at the White House:
12:53am: President Trump just tweeted:
We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
12:48am: CNN projects that President Trump will win the critical battleground of Florida.
12:44am: Some say he was banking on his family name to help him win New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District race. But for Republican Tom Kean, Jr., the son of a popular former New Jersey governor, the third time was not a charm. Kean, Jr., lost to incumbent Democratic Congressman Tom Malinowski.
12:40am: CNN projects that Joe Biden will win the state of Minnesota, continuing its long blue streak, though President Trump had hoped to compete in the state that was seen as a potential late-game battleground.
12:35am: From CNN: The Biden campaign has long said their easiest path to the nomination hinges on the “blue wall” – Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – and that is still a belief that stands tonight.
12:28am: The race in CD-11 is over, or is it? Laura Ali, the chair of the Morris County Republican Committee, says it is “irresponsible” to call a race when many votes have not been tabulated.
12:20am: It appears President Trump has won the state of Iowa, with 95% reporting, 53.1% to 45.1%.
12:13am: Veteran North Plainfield Councilman Doug Singleterry and his running mates won tonight, executing a clean sweep over their GOP rivals.
12:09am: From Fox: The Fox News Decision Desk now projects that President Trump will win the state of Texas and its 38 electoral votes.
The state was seen as a possible pick-up opportunity, if not a long-shot, for Democrats.
12:07am: Atlantic County Committee Chairman Mike Suleiman was not ready to raise the white flag. “It was very presumptuous for him to declare victory,” the chairman said of U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s (R-2) statement earlier this evening.
12:04am: ABC News has officially called Ohio for President Trump. The AP reports Trump has a lead of over 8% with 94% reporting.
11:41pm: CD7 Rep. Malinowski has unofficially defeated GOP challenger Senator Kean, with Somerset County putting him over the top.
11:34pm: CD5 Rep. Gottheimer defeated GOP challenger Frank Pallotta.
11:33pm: CD2 GOP Rep. Van Drew has declared victory.
11:31pm: In what may be a history making event, a Democrat, Cary Amaro, is leading a Republican incumbent, Tayfun Selen, by about 8,000 votes.
11:23pm: From Fox: The Fox News Decision Desk can now project that former Vice President Joe Biden will win the state of Arizona, dramatically narrowing the president’s pathway to reelection. It is the first state of the night where Trump loses a state he won in 2016.
11:16pm: As expected, CD1 Rep. Norcross cruised to re-election tonight.
10:56pm: As expected, U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-7) is poised to beat Republican challenger Tom Kean, Jr.
10:54pm: CD4 GOP Rep. Smith defeated Democratic challenger Stephanie Schmid.
10:52pm: The AP reports that South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham defeated Democratic nominee Jaime Harrison.
10:46pm: CD2 GOP Rep. Van Drew is ahead in Gloucester County, limiting Amy Kennedy’s pathway for victory. The Kennedy campaign released a statement saying ‘the race is close as expected’.
10:28pm: EMILY’s List hailed CD11 Rep. Sherrill’s re-election tonight. Mikie Sherrill has just claimed victory in CD-11, becoming the first Democrat elected in the “blue wave” of 2018 to be reelected to Congress.
10:25pm: In Arizona, Joe Biden is leading President Trump by 8.7% as of 10:25pm, according to the AP, with 73% reporting; Trump won the state in 2016.
10:19pm: In LD25, the results as of now have GOP incumbent Anthony M. Bucco losing to Democrat Rupande Mehta by about 1,000 votes.
10:17pm: CD2 Democratic candidate Amy Kennedy released a statement following the closing of the polls: ‘The people of South Jersey have been left behind and abandoned by our Congressman for too long. I’m hopeful that South Jersey will get the representation it deserves.’
10:08pm: The critical battleground of North Carolina is now tied, with Trump and Biden both at 49.4% with 88% reporting, according to the AP; President Trump has opened a lead of over 4% in Ohio.
9:53pm: CD2 GOP Rep. Van Drew is racking up a huge margin in Cape May County, and now is the favorite to defeat Amy Kennedy. It’s not over…but Van Drew has the edge so far, with Gloucester and Cumberland still to come.
9:49pm: President Trump has pulled into the lead in battleground Ohio, by 2.6% with 74% reporting, according to the AP. Trump is trailing Biden in North Carolina by .2%, with 87% reporting.
9:38pm: Voters in New Jersey approved a ballot question legalization the recreational use of marijuana.
9:32pm: From CNN Trump campaign officials are concerned about the crucial battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin — but are feeling better about Florida, a senior Trump adviser said.
9:27pm: As expected, U.S. Rep. Andy Kim’s candidacy looks good on Election Night. He’s up over 54,000 votes over Republican businessman David Richter in Burlington and only down 19,000 in Ocean.
9:27pm: The race in battleground Ohio is tightening, according to the AP, with Joe Biden holding a 2 point lead over President Trump with 65% reporting.
9:16pm: From Fox News: The Fox News Decision Desk can now project that Democrats will retain control of the House of Representatives and expand their majority by at least five seats. This is a major boost for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has pledged to roll back much of Trump’s first-term agenda if he loses reelection.
9:12pm: According to ABC, the Trump campaign is nervously looking at Ohio’s results so far, in which Joe Biden is leading.
9:09pm: According to unofficial results, CD3 Rep. Andy Kim is up 2-1 over GOP challenger David Richter in Burlington County.
9:02pm: Over 160,000 VBMs were recorded in battleground Somerset County, eclipsing the 2016 total.
8:57pm: From CNN: The Biden campaign is realistic about Florida tonight, with advisers saying the state seems to be moving out of reach. But advisers argue that Florida is unique, not the beginning of a trend.
8:39pm: Former Governor Christie on ABC predicts Trump will win Florida, and says the Trump campaign thinks they can win North Carolina. In Pennsylvania, Christie pointed to ‘underperformance of African-Americans’ in Philadelphia and double-digit underperformance in Cleveland, saying those are good signs for President Trump.
8:32pm: From the AP: A judge in Nevada has ordered 30 Las Vegas-area voting sites to remain open for an extra hour after President Donald Trump’s campaign and Nevada Republicans cited reports that some locations did not open on time.
8:28: They won’t call anything tonight, but here’s the latest CD2 numbers in battleground Atlantic County.
Donald Shaw is on pace to win the Roselle mayoralty.
8:12pm: In battleground Florida, with 85% reporting, President Trump leads Joe Biden by roughly 155,000 votes – 50.4% to 48.8% as of 8:12pm
8:09pm: Senator Booker, as expected, cruised to re-election tonight. The AP called the race.
As expected, Joe Biden carries New Jersey and its 14 electoral votes.
8:03pm: Fox News projects that Kentucky Senator, and Senate Majority Leader, McConnell has won re-election.
8pm: According to the AP, Joe Biden has won Virginia and Vermont, while President Trump has won Kentucky, South Carolina, and West Virginia. With 81% reporting in Florida, the race there is razor tight as of 8pm.
The AP reports that: ‘President Donald Trump has won Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee, while Democrat Joe Biden has won Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. The results were not a surprise. Biden is very strong in the states that went for him, just as Trump is strong in the states he won.’
7:52pm: From NJ.com: About 3.7 million voters have already returned their mail-in ballots in New Jersey, New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way said Tuesday.
7:50pm: From Fox News: The Republican National Committee (RNC) moved its headquarters on election night from a government building in Washington, D.C., to an undisclosed location, citing security concerns, a Republican official told Fox News on Tuesday night.
7:50pm: From CNN: Early results out of Miami-Dade, Florida’s most populous county, show a closer race between Biden and Donald Trump in 2020 than when Clinton faced Trump in 2016.
6:40pm: From CNN: While the economy is strongly positioned as the most important issue for a plurality of 2020 voters, voters are split as to whether the economy is good or poor, according to early exit polls. Around half of voters say it is good, while around half say it’s poor. Around 2 in 5 say they’re better off than they were four years ago; 1 in 5 think they’re worse off, and another 2 in 5 say they’re about the same.
6:38pm: Atlantic City provisional count as of 6 p.m.: 1,705
5:24pm: These 2 p.m. numbers from Politico NJ’s Matt Friedman show large voter turnout in suburban Bergen County, while Essex County is short still of Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin’s prediction of 300K votes.
5:23pm: “It’s never too late, you have till 8 o’clock.” So said Rosemary Becchi as she spent some of the last hours of her CD-11 congressional campaign going door-to-door looking for votes.
3:38pm: The FBI is investigating an Election Day robocall that went out this morning telling voters that the polls are closed and there is no in-person voting in Atlantic County.
3:27pm: From CNN: Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said either candidate has the possibility to win in the state, but adds that Joe Biden does have an edge according to polling.
3:23pm: From the Press of AC: Elections officials have received VBMs from over half the registered voters in South Jersey.
3:10pm: From CNN: North Carolina’s election results will be delayed by at least 45 minutes after the board of elections extended voting at four locations that were having problems this morning.
3:09pm: From the Hill: Tens of millions of Americans are lining up at the polls amid a raging pandemic on Tuesday to determine whether President Trump will get a second term in office or Democratic nominee Joe Biden will be the nation’s 46th president. There is tension in the air, as the nation braces for unrest in the streets at a time of deep social and political divisions.
2:39pm: A judge today denied a GOP effort to compel election officials to disclose how many Election Day vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots are recorded at area polling locations.
2:15pm: MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki maps out various electoral map scenarios.
2:11pm: In battleground Arizona, Republicans are outpacing Democrats in the county of Maricopa:
Maricopa election day 10:30 update:
Total: 64,236
R: 31,395
D: 11,759
O: 21,082 pic.twitter.com/oFxik1P5qs— The AZ – abc15 – Data Guru (@Garrett_Archer) November 3, 2020
1:57pm: From Politico: Pennsylvania has received more than 2.5 million mail-in and absentee ballots so far, according to new data from election officials here. That means that 81 percent of state voters who were sent those ballots have returned them. To break it down, more than 1.6 million of those ballots were from registered Democrats, 586,000 were from Republicans, and 278,000 were from independents or third-party voters.
1:56pm: From CNN: Connecticut is experiencing very high voter turnout, Secretary of State Denise Merrill told reporters Tuesday, with turnout nearing 75%.
1:55pm: From The Hill: President Trump on Tuesday visited his campaign headquarters to thank his staff and express confidence about the outcome of the election, but he acknowledged that it would be tough for him to face a potential defeat. “I’m not thinking about concessions speech or acceptance speech yet,” Trump told reporters at the campaign’s Arlington, Va., office. “Hopefully we’ll be only doing one of those two. Winning is easy. Losing is never easy. Not for me it’s not.”
1:50pm: The NJ county vote totals as of 10am:
1:49pm: In the blue-collar South Bergen town of Wood-Ridge, 200 people voted provisionally today for a rough total of 5,200, when you throw in VBMs, or all-time-high turnout totals.
1:48pm: NJ CAN 2020‘s Axel Owen runs the campaign to legalize marijuana in New Jersey. We chatted with Mr. Owen around lunchtime on Election Day.
12:40pm: Politico NJ’s Matt Friedman tweeted the state turnout breakdown by county:
Here’s NJ turnout by county as of 10 a.m. Sorry, but the state isn’t providing the partisan breakdown by itself and I don’t have the right software to run the massive data file. pic.twitter.com/q8QQnzHFgn
— Matt Friedman (@MattFriedmanNJ) November 3, 2020
12:40pm: From Insider NJ columnist Carl Golden: In the 39 years since the 1981 gubernatorial election — the closest in state history and the only contest for governor ever subjected to a recount — a narrative has persisted that had it not been for efforts to intimidate voters and dampen turnout, the result would have been reversed.
11:49am: LD25 GOP Assemblywoman Dunn fired back at Governor Murphy’s comments that she ‘deserves to lose‘ the special election, writing: “Nobody gets to tell you what you do, or don’t, deserve.” She added that she doesn’t “put much stock in the words of a governor who loves deciding winners and losers.”
11:25am: CD3 GOP challenger David Richter’s campaign says it has made 1M phone calls during the campaign:
11:25am: CD11 Rep. Mikie Sherrill visited voters in Montclair this morning:
11:23am: The Hudson County Democratic Organization has spent the past two weeks visiting all 12 of its municipalities in an effort to drive out a record number of voters ahead of the November 3 General Election.
11:22am: Bergen County activist groups are planning a ‘Count Every Vote’ rally next week.
11:18am: CD3 Rep. Kim campaigned in Willingboro this morning:
11:13am: From CNN: For the fifth day in a row, the US Postal Service moved fewer ballots on-time in critical battleground states than it did in the previous day, according to new court filings.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office told CNN that as of Tuesday morning, there are still 224,773 absentee mail ballots outstanding in the state that have not been returned by voters yet.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar announced on Tuesday that more than 2.5 million mail-in and absentee votes have been returned.
Long voting lines form early in Arizona’s traditional Republican strongholds.
Politico breaks down 21 battleground counties that will have an impact on today’s election: There are 3,141 counties in the United States, but only a tiny fraction of them are poised to have a significant impact on the presidential election outcome Tuesday.
11:11am: Joe Biden cracked this morning that ‘based on Trump’s notion, I’m going to declare victory tonight’.
11:06am: If news organizations declare Joe Biden the mathematical president-elect, he plans to address the nation as its new leader, even if President Trump continues to fight in court, advisers tell Axios.
11:06am: Americans are exiting the nation or seeking foreign visas at an unprecedented rate, according to a Washington Post report. Among the reasons: political violence, racial conflict and COVID-19.
10:51am: From the Associated Press: Two tiny New Hampshire communities that vote for president just after the stroke of midnight on Election Day have cast their ballots, with one of them marking 60 years since the tradition began. The results in Dixville Notch, near the Canadian border, were a sweep for former Vice President Joe Biden who won the town’s five votes. In Millsfield, 12 miles to the south, President Donald Trump won 16 votes to Biden’s five.
10:38am: In CD2, on Election Day morning, Governor Murphy slammed Rep. Van Drew, saying ‘I’m sick of traitors’ and voicing support for challenger Kennedy.
10:38am: For a list of polling locations in New Jersey, go here. For a list of ballot drop boxes, go here.
10:27am: In an Election Day interview with Fox News, President Trump predicts a greater victory than in 2016: “I ended up with 306,” Trump said Tuesday morning. “That was a good number. 223-306, and that was a big number, and I think we will top it. I’ll leave it at that. I think we’ll get better.” Trump also said he’ll declare a win “only when there’s victory,” and that “there’s no reason to play games.”
10:25am: NJ faith leaders will preach healing following a bitter election season, according to Burlington County Times.
10:25am: From Politico: The final polls before Election Day show Joe Biden ahead in enough swing states to win. Polls favoring Biden: Mich. +8, Minn. +9.4, Nev. +4.8, N.H. +11.1, Pa. +4.8, Wis. +8.2. Toss-up polls: Ariz. +2.6, Fla. +2.5, Ga. +1, Iowa +1.4, N.C. +1.9, Ohio +0.7, Texas +1.
10:05am: From NJ.com: At the Prudential Center in Newark, turned into a “super polling site” for eight of the city’s 163 voting districts, the home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and a major concert venue well familiar with big crowds seemed nearly deserted.
10am: The Election Day polling scene in Union County
8:28am: When you have a long day ahead, nothing is better than doughnuts. Anthony M. Bucco knows that. Bucco was at the town hall polling place soon after it opened at 6 a.m., carrying a box of doughnuts.
8am: From the Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine: ‘Massive pro-Trump rallies and tightening polls‘: It’s beginning to look a lot like 2016The pro-Trump rallies over the weekend had the usual massive crowds; but what will that mean as we head into the election?
7/50am: Read Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing: 11/3/2020
7:39am: The GOP holds the edge in Cape May so far.
7:39am: From Politico NJ: Five things to watch for in New Jersey on Election Day.
7:37am: From The Hill: Five key states to watch on election night
7:37am: Governor Phil Murphy signed Executive Order No. 193, which moves the date of the Perth Amboy runoff election to Tuesday, December 15th, if a runoff is necessary.
7:37am: Insider NJ reporter Christine Sloan writes ‘Trump 2020: Also Super-Spreading Disinformation‘
10:19pm: The oddest campaign imaginable ended tonight in a cold parking lot under a full moon with Rep. Mikie Sherrill saying the president “doesn’t understand America.”
9:55pm: Former CD7 Rep. Lance, who was defeated by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski in 2018, weighs in on the GOP and the 2020 election, via Politico: “We have to do much better in the suburbs. We have to do better with minority voters. Our country is moving in a different direction in demography,” said former GOP Rep. Leonard Lance, who in 2018 was ousted from a northern New Jersey seat that had been held by Republicans for four decades. “We have to reach out to the America that exists today.”
8:30pm: The scene at a drop box in Union:
7:05pm: In New York City, some businesses are boarding up their windows ahead of Election Day:
7pm: President Trump’s campaign manager, and Jersey native, Bill Stepien offered this take on the day before the election via Twitter:
‘So there has been a lot of bluster, from pollsters and pundits, about what we should expect tomorrow.
President Trump has the momentum in this race and the math available to him to win on Election Day.
President Trump is ahead of where he was in 2016, by a very key measure.
It’s the measure that actually matters. Votes cast, and votes left to be cast.
You’ve been seeing reports of Democrats being nervous, and well, they should be.
Let’s start in Ohio, where Joe Biden is wasting a few hours today.
Weeks ago the partisan makeup of the electorate was D +10, today it’s D +0.6.
Going into E Day in 2016, the gap was D +2.5.
Pres. Trump has a projected Election Day votes cast margin of over 400k net votes.
Pres. Trump rallied in North Carolina this morning.
Democrats jumped out to a D +32 advantage during AB only voting. Today it’s D +5.8.
Going into Election Day in 2016, the gap was D +9.7.
Pres. Trump has a projected Election Day votes cast margin of over 400k net votes.
Pres. Trump and Biden are then heading to Pennsylvania.
Dems have banked A TON of high propensity voters. We have millions of voters left.
Pres. Trump’s E Day margin needs to be significant and we project an Election Day votes cast margin of over a million for Pres. Trump.
Don Jr. is in AZ today to etch the state into our win column.
Weeks ago the makeup of the electorate was D +11.9, today it’s D +1.2. Reminder: going into E Day in 2016, the gap was D +2.5.
Pres. Trump has a projected Election Day votes cast margin of over 150k net votes.
What about Florida?
Democrats jumped out to a D +18.8 advantage during AB-only voting. Today it’s D +1.
Going into Election Day in 2016, the gap was D +1.4.
President Trump has a projected Election Day votes cast margin of over 500k net votes.’
6:56pm: From NJ.com: U.S. Justice Department officials said Monday they will station monitors in two New Jersey counties on Election Day to protect voting rights. Bergen and Middlesex counties are among 44 jurisdictions in 18 states that will house monitors from the civil rights division.
6:50pm: The battleground Atlantic County numbers: over 111,000 VBMs so far.
6:44pm: Democrats are holding onto their advantage in Cumberland County.
6pm: InsiderNJ made the rounds of insiders today, trying to gauge their real feelings about the race as the country staggers toward the finish line in the worst election cycle of all-time…
RollCall lists CD2 GOP Rep. Van Drew as the third most vulnerable House incumbent in the nation heading into tomorrow’s election: ‘Van Drew has consistently trailed Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy in the polls leading up to Election Day. And it’s unclear whether Trump will again be able to carry the district, which voted twice for former President Barack Obama. Kennedy, a former teacher, has accused Van Drew of putting his political ambitions over the needs of his constituents when he switched parties in December and pledged his “undying support” for Trump. Kennedy, a first-time candidate, doesn’t have a political record for Republicans to attack, but she has been able to draw support from the political network of her husband, former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy.’
Secretary of State Way offered the following ‘factcheck’ points regarding the voting process:
- You CAN return your completed vote-by-mail ballot to your polling place. Completed vote-by-mail ballots can be returned to your designated polling location between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 3.
- Your vote IS kept secret. Multiple safeguards are in place to maintain privacy during the validation and counting processes.
- EVERY valid ballot is counted. Each ballot determined to be valid will be counted as long as it’s postmarked, received or cast by 8:00 p.m. on November 3.
- You CAN track your ballot. Visit Vote.NJ.Gov and use the Track My Ballot tool.
- You can only vote ONCE. Voting more than once is a crime punishable by law. Many safeguards prevent fraudulent voting, ensuring that each person has only voted one.
Press of AC: Over 500 Hamilton voters were sent incorrect ballots by the Cumberland County Clerk.
From the Hill: Democrats are feeling confident that 2020 will not be a repeat of 2016 and that polls showing Joe Biden with a comfortable lead over President Trump will not result in another nightmare for the party.
The “Trump-train” that clogged the Garden State Parkway over the weekend would have been better off travelling to Pennsylvania. So said Phil Murphy today about a bizarre incident involving motorists in a Donald Trump caravan who stopped their vehicles and blocked northbound traffic Sunday on the Parkway in central Jersey.
From Politico: Joe Biden leads in Pennsylvania by 4 or 5 percentage points, according to polling averages. But there is tremendous anxiety among Democrats that President Donald Trump’s campaign efforts to restrict mail-in voting here could tilt the race, and its promised deployment of a legion of poll watchers could lead to potential intimidation at voting sites.
From the Press of AC: Some AC businesses are boarding up ahead of Election Day.
From Hudson County View: Hudson County Democratic Organization Chair Amy DeGise says she’s “feeling good” about Election Day, indicating that voter enthusiasm and turnout has been high in Hudson County and is also optimistic of former Vice President Joe Biden’s chances.
NJTV, New Jersey’s public television network, announced that its news division, NJ Spotlight News, will provide live election night coverage on November 3 starting at 9 p.m. on NJTV (check local listings) and online platforms.
Governor Murphy and the First Lady announced their Election Day schedule.
The CD2 contest dominates the political classes in the closing hours of the 2020 election, as sources try to make sense of the intentions of those unaffiliated voters at the heart of the South Jersey District. Most insiders see the other so-called battleground contests as already decided, snooze-alarming CD7, CD3, CD5 and CD11 as Democratic Party wins. But South Jersey – the North Florida region of New Jersey – remains a question mark. Amy Kennedy’s Democratic Party advantages in Atlantic, Cumberland and Gloucester counties, and Van Drew’s Cape May and Ocean pluralities along with incisions into Atlantic – means the contest hinges on independents.
Somerset County is cruising toward record totals (iLine post).
More than 200k ballots were received ahead of Election Day in Burlington County.
The Cook Political report has shifted the CD3 race from ‘lean Dem’ to ‘likely Dem’, according to the Hill.
The NJGOP offered closing comments on congressional races.
In CD2, Democratic candidate Amy Kennedy cancelled her in-person events and will quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 over the weekend.
A NBC/WSJ/Telemundo poll finds Joe Biden leads President Trump among Latino registered voters 62% to 29%; Biden holds a narrower advantage than did Hillary Clinton in 2016.
A Monmouth University poll finds Joe Biden maintaining his lead in Pennsylvania despite gains by President Trump in swing counties.
In Atlantic County, Democrats maintain an edge in voter turnout over Republicans, with underwhelming numbers coming from the urban areas, while sources say provisionals could prove critical tomorrow.
In Cape May County, the GOP holds the edge in voter turnout so far. Democratic freeholder candidate, and Democratic Chairman, Brendan Sciarra says the ticket is energized nonetheless.
In Cumberland County, Democrats are maintaining their edge in voter turnout.
In Somerset County, Democrats thus far are swamping Republicans in voter turnout, 53k to 36k.
Morris County Democrats held a rally on Sunday, attended by Governor Murphy, who said that LD25 is ‘there for the taking‘ and that the GOP incumbents ‘they both deserve to lose’.
In CD2’s battleground contest, a Stockton University poll released on Friday shows the race a statistical dead heat, with Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy ahead of incumbent GOP Rep. Van Drew by one point. The candidates are going for every last vote, according to the Press of Atlantic City, where so farDemocrats are leading Republicans in early returns.
In CD3’s battleground contest, Insider NJ’s Jay Lassiter interviews Rep. Andy Kim. Democrats are leading Republicans in early return so far.
In CD5, Rep. Gottheimer was endorsed by the United Auto Workers. GOP candidate Frank Pallotta was endorsed by President Trump. Pallotta refused to denounce the Oath Keepers after Rep. Gottheimer accused him of ‘cavorting with domestic terrorists’; Pallotta said ‘my supporters are my supporters’ and are ‘good people’.
In CD7, Rep. Malinowski says that the GOP is ‘coming after me more than anybody else‘ in the 2020 election, adding that he considers it a ‘compliment’. Democrats have an edge so far in early returns.
In CD11, GOP candidate Rosemary Becchi accused Rep. Sherrill of ‘playing politics’ with COVID-19 fatalities in state-run veterans nursing homes.
The ‘NJ Women For Trump’ Facebook group was removed and then reinstated by Facebook, according to NJ.com; President Trump had weighed in via tweet, telling Facebook to reinstate the group.
A tri-state Trump caravan snarled traffic on the Garden State Parkway near Lakewood.
Democrats hope to break the GOP lock on the Ocean County Freeholder Board, according to the Asbury Park Press.
The hard numbers driving early Dem returns; Rutgers-Eagleton poll finds Biden leading in NJ; O’Brien’s ascension to judge creates BurlCo volatility (iLine post); NJEA PAC OC endorsed Murphy; BurlCo GOP HQ shut down over COVID; Dem AC latest municipal breakdown; CD2 bar-notes in the battleground, both sides feel motivated; in LD25, Halloween plays a role; Rice not worried about Essex underperformance; Hoffman digs in; some preparing for post-election civil discord; Callaway jeered at Kennedy, who hit the ground in Gloucester; CD4’s Schmid anticipates underdog win; Becchi held GOTV rally; tight race in LD25, Bucco/Mehta debated; King likens ‘Chatham Moms For Change’ to ‘modern hate group’; Menendez fighting for Latino vote in FL; Callaway, working for Van Drew, jeered at Kennedy’s ground game in critical AC; CD7’s dueling ads; in CD11, ‘bringing home the bacon’; Mehta, Booker debated; Smith, Schmid sparred; Stockton: Trump competitive in SJ; Frelinghuysen spreading campaign cash (iLine); Small savaged Callaway; Kean Sr. touts Jr. (iLine); Sherrill, Becchi faced off again; Malinowski, Kean locked horns; Prempeh hopes to unseat Pascrell; Sherrill, Becchi faced off; CD1, 2 nuggets; state of CD3; ; Van Drew, Kennedy debate; Pallotta says Trump helps candidacy
Insider NJ barnstorms battleground Pennsylvania, as Trump and Biden forces rally for their candidates.
In Atlantic City, street piece ahead of Election Day targets operative Craig Callaway (iLine post). Former Mayor Langford is said to be considering a comeback (iLine post). Casinos urged Governor Murphy to allow conventions, according to the Press of Atlantic City. Business are boarding up ahead of Election Day, according to NJ.com.
In Paterson, the Ward 3 special election between Bill McKoy and Alex Mendez is a VBM contest at the heart of the national wrangling about the course of the election. Ward 2 council candidates missed the ELEC filing deadline, according to Paterson Press.
In Somerville, Green Party Senate candidate Madelyn Hoffman campaigned over the weekend (iLine post).
Insider NJ columnist Dr. Matthew Hale writes ‘Watching Paint Dry and Seeing a Dumpster Fire: 2020 NJ House Races and the End of the World‘
Insider NJ columnist Robert Hennelly writes ‘Seizing Power Just to Have it: These are the Times that Reveal Our Souls‘ and ‘Atlantic City’s Warning for a Nation at the Crossroads‘
In a guest column on Insider NJ, Michael Schnoll writes ‘Why My First Presidential Vote is for Trump‘
In a guest column on Insider NJ, Lou Magazzu writes ‘Memories of Elections Gone by‘
Insider NJ columnist Alan Joel Steinberg writes ‘Kean, Jr. v. Malinowski: Does the NJGOP have a Future in Suburbia?‘ and ‘My Final Presidential and US Senate Election Projections‘
Insider NJ columnist Tom Barrett writes ‘White Heat In The White House‘
Insider NJ columnist and former Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny writes ‘Biden – and the Country – Need a Knockout Blow on Tuesday‘
In a guest column on Insider NJ, Lou Manzo writes ‘The 2020 Presidential Election: Final Analysis and Projections‘
Insider NJ editor Max Pizarro writes ‘The Exhortation of a Jersey Winner: An Election Year Sports Lesson from Coach Bruno‘
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