MOUNTAINSIDE – Tom Malinowski says a poll his campaign took a few weeks ago showed the CD-7 race between him and Tom Kean Jr. tied at 48-48. So, he took another poll that concluded a few days ago.

The numbers were different … sort of.

The race is now at 47-47.

Malinowski related his latest campaign math to about 50 supporters gathered Thursday night in a local restaurant on Route 22. Campaign polls can be unreliable, but Malinowski says the two latest samplings – plus an earlier one that also showed a dead heat – are encouraging.

That’s because his revamped district leans Republican by about 17,000 votes. If the contest is indeed tied, the outcome can come down to turnout and voter interest.

And Malinowski is confident all that swings his way.

He boasted of massive canvassing undertaken by volunteers throughout the district every weekend. In fact, the congressman said his campaign has more volunteers than any congressional campaign in the country. That sounds like something that’s difficult to prove, but you get his point.

A huge cadre of volunteers is key to Malinowski’s campaign strategy. He reasons that his supporters are more passionate than his opponent’s, thereby giving him a key edge on the ground.

We will see about that, but it’s undeniable the two candidates have quite different campaign philosophies,

Malinowski holds many public events; Kean holds very few. His campaign has ignored multiple requests from InsiderNJ to cover Kean on the campaign trail.

“The people see me, they don’t see him,” Malinowski said on Thursday. “Every time I see people, I have a chance to win their vote.”

The candidates’ different styles popped up during a recent debate held by the NJ Globe.

Malinowski asked Kean why he never holds public events such as “town halls.”  Kean was in the state Senate until early January.

Kean replied that he “always listens”  to his constituents, adding that he does spend time going directly to the voters by knocking on doors.

Malinowski was unconvinced, saying that Kean hasn’t held a town hall meeting in 20 years and that if he goes to Washington, “No one will ever see (him) again.”