Lewis Eisenberg

James Maggs says he resigned his post as Alternate Delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention from New Jersey’s 12th district because he couldn’t take off the first week of September. The problem is Maggs isn’t telling the truth. Maggs – despite his spin – resigned because of policy differences with the presumed GOP presidential nominee, John McCain.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will file a slate of delegate candidates today that represents huge representation from supporters of his vanquished rivals – there are more Rudy Giuliani supporters on the ticket than early McCain backers, and the list includes some Mitt Romney backers.  None of Mike Huckabee’s state campaign leaders are running as McCain delegates, and retiring Rep. Jim Saxton, who backed Duncan Hunter, was not offered a delegate slot.

There was a fairly fierce internal battle over delegates in District 12, where State Senator Jennifer Beck and former Senate President John Bennett -- both originally Giuliani supporters – were both in competition for one Monmouth County slot.  Adam Puharic, the Monmouth GOP Chairman, picked Bennett, designating Beck for an alternate slot.

The McCain delegates:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will be in New Jersey on May 8 to raise money for his own campaign and for the Republican National Committee.  The event is being organized by former Port Authority Chairman Lewis Eisenberg, who is playing a national role in McCain’s fundraising effort.

PolitickerNJ.com's Special Edition: 2008 New Jersey Presidential Primary Winners & Losers: Click Here

Just a few end-of-the day observations:

What would Frank Hague have thought of a Mayor of Jersey City (who is also the Hudson County Democratic Chairman) who could not deliver most of the key Hudson party leadership and elected officials to his candidate for President?  And could the gullible Brad Abelow be the only one who believes Bob Menendez is no longer involved in Hudson County politics?

An impressive list of finance committee members, led by Lewis Eisenberg, has raised just $100,000 for Anne Evans Estabrook’s bid for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination; that’s about half what Dennis Shulman, the blind Rabbi/Psychologist, has raised for his fledgling congressional campaign against Scott Garrett.  Luckily for Estabrook, she put $1.6 million of her own money into the race.  Estabrook still won’t say how much she’ll invest to unseat Frank Lautenberg.

The polls in New Hampshire show Sen. John McCain holding a slight lead over former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, who was banged up in Iowa on his way into the granite state’s primary tomorrow.

N.J. State Director Richard Mroz said McCain’s candor and experience, particularly on foreign policy, distinguish him from Romney. Trying to turn that against him, Romney’s people have snickered about the craggy Arizona senator’s 70 plus years.

It happens every cycle: a candidate gets tripped up by revelations of a campaign contribution to the other party.  Sometimes it hurts – that’s one of the reasons Lewis Eisenberg dropped his bid for U.S. Senate in 2000 – and sometimes it doesn’t matter at all – like Jon Corzine’s donations to some Republicans when he was the Goldman Sachs Chairman.  And Anne Evans Estabrook’s contributions to Democrats like Robert Menendez and Linda Stender does not appear to bother Republican leaders considering her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

Is there any tangible value to early endorsements in a presidential campaign? Mitt Romney is at 9% in New Jersey, despite the backing of State Senator (and former GOP State Chairman) Joseph Kyrillos, and John McCain, with the support of GOP State Chairman Tom Wilson, fundraiser Lewis Eisenberg, and Assemblyman Bill Baroni, has just 7% of the state Republican primary vote. And Duncan Hunter, who has the support of Congressman Jim Saxton, is at 1% -- placing ninth out of the nine GOP possible GOP presidential contenders. Fred Thompson, who has no announced endorsements in New Jersey, is second in New Jersey with 12%.

On the Democratic side, Barack Obama, with the backing of Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Jersey City Mayor (and Hudson County Democratic Chairman) Jerramiah Healy, and a respectable group of legislators and Democratic leaders, is at just 22%. And John Edwards, who has the support of New Jersey's most popular Democrat, Senate President Richard Codey, is at 8%.