By Steve Kornacki 4/22/08 11:19pm

Rob Andrews Appoints Campaign Manager Who Once Mocked Him

Rob Andrews, the South Jersey congressman who is challenging Senator Frank R. Lautenberg in New Jersey’s June Democratic primary, just appointed his campaign chairman: Michael Murphy, the stepson of former Governor Richard J. Hughes (who served two terms from 1961 to 1969) and himself a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1997.

Murphy is Read More

By Steve Kornacki 4/04/08 12:42pm

A New Jersey Primary About Iraq

Frank Lautenberg is ripe for defeat in New Jersey’s June Democratic primary, and his opponent, Rob Andrews, looks well-positioned to dislodge him.

Lautenberg is 84 years old, while Andrews is a young-looking 50. The challenger will benefit from future-vs.-past themes. And it’s not as if Democrats feel much personal or political pull toward the incumbent. Read More

By Steve Kornacki 4/03/08 6:25pm

A County-Machine Guide to the Lautenberg-Andrews Primary

For the first time in eight years, it will be up to New Jersey’s Democratic voters to determine their party’s nominee for a statewide office. Here’s a look at one of the major factors that will shape this June’s Senate fight between incumbent Frank Lautenberg and challenger Rob Andrews:

The County Lines

These are uniquely Read More

By Steve Kornacki 4/03/08 6:10pm

Lautenberg’s Opponent Is a Lautenberg Donor

Three years ago, Rob Andrews—like every other ambitious New Jersey Democrat—believed that the best way to get ahead was to be a team player, racking up goodwill and IOU’s among party insiders with the faith that, when the time came, they’d return the favor and support his for statewide office.

Part of being a team Read More

By Steve Kornacki 4/03/08 2:18am

A Congressman Decides Not to Play the New Jersey Game Anymore

Finally, after years of false starts, Rob Andrews has grasped what so many ambitious and otherwise bright New Jersey Democrats haven’t: If you stand around waiting for someone to hand you a promotion, you’re never going to get anywhere.

Andrews, age 50, is intimately familiar with the particular agony that attends missed opportunities in politics, Read More

By Steve Kornacki 4/02/08 5:03pm

A Momentary Threat to Frank Lautenberg

Frank Raleigh Lautenberg, New Jersey’s 84-year-old senior U.S. senator, is not a beloved public official. He has served off and (mostly) on since 1982, but has never garnered more than 54 percent of the vote in four winning campaigns. His approval ratings are mostly lukewarm, owing more to New Jersey’s partisan tendencies than anything else, Read More

By Jessica Bruder 11/28/05 12:00am

The Scramble Is On To Get Corzine’s Seat

Ever since Senator Jon S. Corzine won the bitter race for Governor of New Jersey earlier this month, a political pall hanging over the state has started to lift. Gone are the sharp-toothed campaign ads and the slanderous whispers. The cacophony of anger and intrigue—most notably from Joanne Corzine, the Governor-elect’s ex-wife—has calmed.

But power Read More

By Jessica Bruder 11/28/05 12:00am

The Scramble Is On To Get Corzine’s Seat

Ever since Senator Jon S. Corzine won the bitter race for Governor of New Jersey earlier this month, a political pall hanging over the state has started to lift. Gone are the sharp-toothed campaign ads and the slanderous whispers. The cacophony of anger and intrigue—most notably from Joanne Corzine, the Governor-elect’s ex-wife—has calmed.

But Read More