Democratic National Committee

One uncommitted superdelegate from New Jersey appears to be leaning toward Hillary Clinton, according to recent comments he made to close friends who have communicated his position to PolitickerNJ.com. Red Bank resident Philip Murphy, the Democratic National Committee Finance Chairman and a former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs (where he was aligned with the faction that essentially tossed Jon Corzine as Chairman in 1999), has reportedly told at least three individuals that he would likely vote for Clinton over Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention – if the nomination comes down to a contest in Denver. 

With an infusion of national GOP resources into New Jersey's U.S. Senate race, Senate Democrats have convinced the Democratic National Committee to take out a loan of between $5 and $10 million to help their party compete with Republicans. "The money is not designated for specific Senate races, however, sources tell us that two races in particular were used as leverage in negotiations between the DSCC and the DNC. Those two races: New Jersey and Virginia," reported Hotline on Call.

The 2008 Republican National Convention will be held on Monday, September 1 through Thursday, September 4, according to an announcement made today. Bids to host the convention are due by May 22, and the Site Selection Committe will announce a list of finalist cities this summer -- with a selection made by next February. New Jersey's Republican National Committeeman, David Norcross, is one of nine members of the site selection panel. A former GOP State Chairman and U.S. Senate candidate, Norcross was the Chairman of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2004 convention.

The Democratic National Convention is set for August 25-28.

What do Senator Jon Corzine and U.S. Supreme Court Justice-designate Harriet Miers have in common? They both gave $1,000 to the 1988 re-election campaign of Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Miers, President George W. Bush's second pick for the top court, gave $1,000 to the Democratic National Committee that year; Corzine's contribution to the DNC in the same cycle was $10,000. But Corzine and Miers had different horses in the '88 presidential race: Miers donated $1,000 to Al Gore, while Corzine gave to five other presidential candidates -- Bruce Babbitt, Joseph Biden, Michael Dukakis, Richard Gephardt and Paul Simon. For trivia buffs: in 1988, Corzine also contributed $500 each to New Jersey's two U.S. Senate candidates -- Democrat Frank Lautenberg and Republican Pete Dawkins.