Mike Ferguson

Kate Whitman’s controversial attack ad against rival Leonard Lance has drawn the ire of the Congressman they’re both hoping to replace.

Seventh district Rep. Mike Ferguson, who’s retiring after he serves out his current term, has remained neutral despite the crowded field of candidates vying to replace him. But yesterday he told the Bridgewater Courier-News that a recent cable television ad from the Whitman campaign was particularly outlandish.

The ad argues that, during Lance’s time in Trenton, spending and property taxes have increased.

“I was very disappointed to see Kate’s ad, because it’s false, it’s misleading, it’s a complete distortion of Senator Lance’s record,” Ferguson told the newspaper.

Less than a week after entering the Republican U.S. Senate race, former Rep. Dick Zimmer has won the endorsement of half of the state’s GOP congressional delegation.

Representatives Frank LoBiondo, Jim Saxton and Mike Ferguson all announced their support for Zimmer today, citing his fiscal conservatism. 

TRENTON - As Democrats gear up for a bruising senate primary season, unofficial congressional filing results with the state Division of Elections show no same-party challengers to incumbent Democratic congressmen.      

Only in the 1st District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews is vacating his seat to challenge U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg in the primary, are there several hopefuls battling for what Andrews leaves behind.

When Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) announced his retirement last month, Democrats reacted with glee and optimism at the prospect of running a competitive race for the open seat, especially with a candidate, Bob Lord, who had raised $600,000.

That hopefulness was dampened, however, when Shadegg reneged on his decision just 10 days later -- after entreaties from 130 congressional colleagues and letters from conservative supporters who begged him to reconsider.

Two Republicans say that's not going to happen here.

Regardless of the chances that their seats will turn from red to blue, Reps. Jim Saxton and Mike Ferguson say that there's no chance they'll pull a Shadegg.

Outgoing Rep. Mike Ferguson, who chaired Anne Evans Estabrook’s U.S. Senate campaign and has known her since he was a child, said that she made the right decision by dropping out of the race. 

"As the chairman of Anne’s campaign, I’m confident she would be an excellent Senator for New Jersey, but as her friend I believe she made the right decision to end her campaign,” he said.  "I am proud of Anne’s leadership and public service and her commitment to improve

Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, Assemblyman Eric Munoz, Sen. Thomas Kean, and U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson soak in one of the speeches.

WESTFIELD - The word going into that first round of voting at the Union County Republican Convention on Saturday was that former Summit Councilwoman Kelly Hatfield and Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks would require a second showdown.

"This is going to a runoff between the top two candidates," said John DeSimone, commissioner for the county Board of Elections as he waded into the crowd of delegates. And that’s exactly how it went down at Westfield High School, where Hatfield eventually prevailed over Marks with 60 % of the vote in the Union County GOP’s pre-primary battle for the line in the 7th District Congressional race.

U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson faces the crowd in Hunterdon.

FLEMINGTON- After hearing one of his would-be successors refer dismally to his recent re-election struggles, retiring U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson of the 7thdistrict went to the microphone to offer a good-natured rebuttal.

"When I saw Mike Ferguson going down steadily," Dr. A.D. Amar, a professor of business management at Seton Hall University and low or no-hoper in this GOP primary race, said in his remarks, he felt compelled to get more involved in politics.

"He won with only 3,000 votes," Amar reminded the crowd in Plaza One in Flemington, and there was an uneasy murmuring as people glanced nervously at Ferguson, who stood smiling amid a cluster of other ruffled Republicans.

"Democrats are making huge inroads into the district," said Amar, standing under a portrait of President George W. Bush.

District 7 U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson has endorsed former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney for president, according to Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, state chairman for the Romney campaign.

Kate Whitman is the daughter of former Gov. Christie WhitmanSeventh district congressional candidate Kate Whitman does not want to distance herself from her mother. But at a candidate forum on Thursday night, she did draw a distinction, describing herself as “more conservative than my mother.”

In terms of Kate Whitman’s candidacy, being the daughter of former two term Republican governor Christine Todd Whitman cuts both ways.

Whitman’s name recognition helped get her a place as one of the most high profile candidates in the crowded seventh district Republican field. And she managed to raise $200,000 during the first quarter of 2007 – more than any other candidate (even if some, like state Senator Leonard Lance, were not yet raising money). At least some of that money came from contacts made through her mother, though Whitman said that there are new donors as well.

Republican Anne Estabrook announced today that outgoing U.S. 7th District Rep. Mike Ferguson will serve as campaign chairman for  Estabrook's U.S. Senate run.