Rob Andrews

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, and John Rutkowski
PERTH AMBOY - A city of wrought iron fire escapes hugs the waterfront to east of the highways, where in a banquet hall behind the ZPA Cocktail Lounge on Saturday night, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews goes from table to table with Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex).

The 100 people here representing the United Poles in America ZPA embrace Wisniewski as one of their own, the powerful chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, who grew up among them in Sayreville, and who’s represented them for over 12 years.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, left, leads Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) on a tour of the Great Falls with Paterson Mayor Jose Torres.

PATERSON – Hamilton never ran against Washington but if he had he probably would have given him fair warning.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8) doesn’t deny that competition is good in politics, but U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews’s (D-1) method of challenging an elder statesman was wrongheaded, in Pascrell’s opinion.

"I don’t think it was healthy," said the congressman, standing in Overlook Park above the Great Falls in Paterson on Saturday morning. "The way he waited until the end causes animosity."

Pascrell said Andrews gave his word not only to U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, but to the other Democratic members of the congressional delegation that he wouldn’t run.

They he ran anyway against Lautenberg.

"The animosity will be healed," said Pascrell. "This is one state. Anybody who wants to try to divide it between north and south should move to another state."

Pascrell said the fact that both of New Jersey’s senators are from the state’s northern region doesn’t diminish their ability to deliver for the entire state.

"I’m from North Jersey," said Pascrell, "and in the last budget, I did everything I could to help South Jersey hospitals."

Rob Andrews wants to render Frank Lautenberg’s county line advantage obsolete.

Andrews announced today that he’s filing suit against 13 mostly northern county clerks to seek a “fair and open Democratic primary” that requires county clerks give “fair and equal” ballot position to both U.S. Senate candidates at the State Superior Court. The challenge was first reported on the liberal Web site Blue Jersey

While Andrews has the county line in seven southern counties, Lautenberg has the line in the 12 other counties that award it -- a big advantage in a primary with an expected low turnout.

Andrews cited a state statute, N.J.S.A. 19:23-26.1, that says primary candidates for Senate or Governor must appear in the first column and apart from candidates for lower offices.

Rob Andrews’s Senate campaign today denied that they had anything to do with a court challenge to long-shot primary opponent Donald Cresitello’s petitions.

Following his receipt of invitations to participate in candidates’ forums, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews today stepped up his call on Sen. Frank Lautenberg to accept the congressman’s debate challenge.

"The senator has said he’d be willing to have debates if they were sponsored by legitimate organizations, and we’ve received nine offers of debates from legitimate organizations," Andrews said this morning in a conference call with reporters.

He listed the organizations: the Associated Press, the Bergen Record, New Jersey101.5, NJN News, the Philadelphia Inquirer and NBC 10, the Press of Atlantic City, Telemundo, WOR TV, and 1210 radio.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1360, which represents 11,000 South Jersey members, today endorsed U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews (D-1) for the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews tells his core supporters that the work of a senator requires 24-7 energy.

State Sen. Dana Redd (D-Camden) and U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) 

CHERRY HILL - Entering to the strains of John Mellencamp’s "Small Town," U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) returned from Trenton to his native Camden County on the day he launched his longshot U.S. Senate bid.

From the podium in party headquarters, Andrews picked faces out of the crowd and reminisced briefly about past battles even as he steeled his fellow South Jersey Democrats for a tough primary campaign against U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

Camille AndrewsTRENTON - The Lautenberg campaign today took exception to Andrews's people describing the congressman's kickoff as an event reserved for family as opposed to politicians.

"Camille Andrews is a politician," said Lautenberg spokesperson Julie Roginsky of the candidate's wife, who's running for her husband's District 1 congressional seat, and who stood with Andrews in Trenton today.

Answering criticism that he appears to be installing Camille Andrews as a placeholder while he runs for the U.S. Senate, the congressman repeated his promise to not reclaim his House seat should he fail in his June 3 primary bid against Lautenberg.

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) in Trenton today.

TRENTON - U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) kicked off his campaign for the U.S. Senate here today in the State House Annex, boasting a plan to get America out of Iraq, a record in opposition to what he cited as damaging trade agreements, and a specific strategy to provide people with better heath care.

"Since the first of the year, 10,000 New Jerseayans have lost their jobs, 70 people who are connected in some way to New Jersey have lost their lives in the ongoing carnage of Iraq, tonight more than 1 million New Jerseyans will go to bed without health insurance," said the 50-year old Andrews, who is challenging U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg in the Democratic Primary.