In what might be a first of this campaign season, a Democratic candidate has used John Kerry to disparage his opponents.

Eighth district Democratic state Senate candidate Fran Bodine, a former Republican, responded to a television commercial aired by Burlington County Republicans that said he voted in favor of budgets that increased the state debt by $8 billion.

The eighth district legislative race was all about Democratic Assembly candidate Tracy Riley today.

In Mount Holly, Riley held a press conference to condemn Republicans for a controversial campaign flyer they had issued. Republicans, in turn, accused Riley of trying to line the pockets of her running mate, Fran Bodine, with a backroom land deal in Mount Laurel, where she serves as a councilwoman.

Martha Bark may not be running for re-election, but the eighth district Democrats don’t want her to go away. At least not as a campaign issue.

In a press release today, Democratic Assemblyman and State Senate candidate Fran Bodine and his Assembly running mates Chris Fifis and Tracy Riley said that their Republican opponents should either condemn Bark or embrace her. To make the point, Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr used language reminiscent of President Bush.

District 8 Assemblyman Fran Bodine and his running mates, Tracy Riley and Chris Fifis, today threw punches in the direction of outgoing Republican State Sen. Martha Bark, who is under state investigation in connection with money she received from the Burlington County Bridge Commission for part-time work.

In response, County GOP spokesman Chris Russell said the Democrats' press conference amounted to little more than damage control for Bodine.

The ethics war continues in the Eighth District, where Democrats called a Republican attack from yesterday hypocritical, pointing to campaign cash the three Republican candidates received from firms since the 1990s.

The Eighth District Democrats issued a press release today that detailed $526,298 in campaign contributions from county vendors to candidates Dawn Addiego, Scott Rudder and Phil Haines and the county and municipal Republican committees that they served under. According to the press release, the firms that donated received over $26 million in county work.

South Jersey Democrats have their eyes on a coveted prize: overtaking the most staunchly Republican district in Burlington County.

Eighth District Democratic candidates Tracy Riley and Chris Fifis are running on an ethics platform, sounding themes of fiscal responsibility that ring of conservatism and putting the blame for high taxes squarely on the shoulders of local Republicans. They’re facing off against three new Republican candidates – Burlington County Clerk Phil Haines for state Senate and his Assembly running mates, Dawn Addiego and Scott Rudder.

But while lowering taxes and cracking down on corruption may resonate with local voters, the candidates may also have a hard time figuring out how they will reconcile their support for Gov. Jon Corzine with popular opposition to the governor’s toll roads privatization plan.