The candidates certainly are not wasting any time in the 3rd Congressional District campaign. Having already exchanged barbs in the media repeatedly, the first debate is already scheduled and it will follow the fireworks on the 4th of July:
Rep. John Adler, D-N.J., and Republican challenger Jon Runyan will participate in the first debate of the 3rd Congressional District election campaign on July 7.
The debate will be aired live on Michael Smerconish's morning radio show, which is broadcast locally from 5 to 9 a.m. on 1210 AM.
I find it interesting that they're debating so early and on Smerconish's show as he's no amateur. Adler will have to manage expectations going into the debate so as to not make Runyan just showing up a victory. It will be good to hear where he stands on some of the major issues and if he gets past the talking points he's memorized so well. A funny note, 1210am which will broadcast the debate spelled the beginning of the end for Chris Myers in 2008 as an appearance on the Dr. Mazz show led to this television ad:
After covering the election night victory speech by Jon Runyan, who was joined by surprise guest Chris Christie because Diane Gooch wasn't doing well in the results, Zach Fink had this take for Runyan:
Far be it for me to give anybody advice, but if I were Runyan's handlers I might call on the Governor to do all the talking in this race. Perhaps Christie can run for Congress in the 3rd while simultaneously running the state. After all, he is very popular in the district ( perhaps at an all-time high ), and the Governor is a natural campaigner. Adler will no doubt be a tough opponent, but I think Christie can beat him.
Christie did the majority of the speaking after the victory and then Runyan gave a short follow up. So of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity like Fink presented and had some fun with photoshop:
Runyan released a signed pledge to serve only four terms, or eight years, in Congress if elected.
"Today we find ourselves saddled with a system that makes it nearly impossible to defeat an incumbent Congressman due to their close ties to powerful special interests, vast powers of incumbency . . . and congressional districts that are gerrymandered to rob voters of competitive elections," he wrote.
Runyan acknowledged that few Washington politicians have actually stuck by term limit pledges.
Sure, few actually stand by the pledge, but Runyan will take it anyway. If he wanted to get rid of John Adler, one term would be enough, so I was curious about the significance of the 8 years. Why not 6 or 10? What can a member of Congress in the minority accomplish in just four terms? Runyan says the biggest problem is that elected officials are always focused on the next election, which I think is a valid concern to raise, but then why will he focus on that 3 times after his initial election if it's such a big concern?
Maybe it's not about accomplishments, but about retirement security. See after five years, Runyan would be fully vested in the Federal Employee Retirement System deferred annuity - which means he could pick up a retirement check when he turns 65. It's not like Runyan needs the money, but it's curious how he arrived at his limit.
It's supposed to be the one of the most watched campaigns for Congress in the country, but it appears it may be a re-run of two years ago, even though Adler hs spent that time since serving in the House. When agreeing to a series of debates with Adler, this is what Runyan had to say:
Runyan's said he looked forward to debating the issues with Adler.
"I'm not afraid to debate him," he said. "It's part of what you have to do to get your contrasts on the issues out there. You can't run from 18 years of history on your voting record."
Sure, because the strategy of running against the record of the State Senator worked so well for Congressman... er not so fast Chris Myers last time around. You wonder it will be any more effective with the Governor trying to step in and play a role in the race. I would think there is plenty from the last two years that people would want to want to talk about. This is going to be an interesting and expensive race.
Now, I must confess, as per my name, I am an independent, but I am still registered as a Democrat, so I get the right to vote in the primary.
Truth be told, I can see a degree of good in many of the Democrats in the delegation. However, Adler has bowed to the altar of the teabaggers (one of his offices is convenient to a teabag cluster) and voted against healthcare (not that Obamacare was really that great to begin with, and it was better than nothing with the public option and worse than nothing without). This is why I am supporting Barry Bendar in the primary, and hopefully, the general election. More after the jump.
Something happened on the way to Jon Runyan self funding a campaign flush with cash and cruising to a challenge against John Adler in November. With his fundraising numbers lagging and endorsements going against him, Jon Runyan is attacking the primary opponent. Here's the latest straight negative mailer Runyan sent to voters against Murphy:
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It's funny that the candidate who held a press conference to clean out his own closet is attacking someone else's problems. It's unlikely Murphy, who has only raised $12,000 total actually could pull of a victory. But the fact that Runyan has had to spend precious resources in a primary they never expected to have on defining his opponent and not himself is certainly something to take note of. So much for that clear path leaving a strong candidate for the general.
Justin Murphy is upset because he says Jon Runyan is stealing his yard signs. Normally, I wouldn't write about an issue like this and the Murphy campaign shouldn't waste their time putting out releases on it either, but the release they sent out the other day contained something I've never seen before:
"We are appalled at the cheap tactics of the Runyan campaign," said an anonymous spokesman for the Justin Murphy campaign. "We have worked very hard to get literature and signage for our campaign. We are trying to run a straight up campaign effort, and having their workers directed to steal our signage is a cheesy practice," the spokesmen continued.
Anonymous spokesman? Really? That's like an invisible road sign.
Third Congressional District candidate Jon Runyan reports $135,000 cash on hand, according to campaign consultant Chris Russell.
It's $2,000 less than what he finished the quarter with exactly a month and a half ago. Between then and now he reported raising just over $75,000.
The former NFL offensive lineman has raised a total of $226,000, including $100,000 of his own money.
Compare that haul to another Republican self financing hopeful challenging a Democratic Incubment in Diane Gooch:
Sixth Congressional District Republican candidate Diane Gooch has nearly $250,000 in her campaign warchest, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Gooch spokeswoman Toni Angelini said over 300 people from the 6th District have contributed over $110,000 to the GOP establishment candidate.
Now these are only primary endorsements, so it's not like the CC GOP neglected to publicize an endorsement of a Democrat over a Republican. In fact, they neglected to say the chosen candidate of the bosses in the 3rd district was passed over:
The Third District's Republican primary is getting a lot of attention because it includes former Philadelphia Eagles player Jon Runyan, who faces Tabernacle lawyer Justin Murphy.
The two match up pretty evenly in their positions, but because he seems to have a better grasp of the issues before Congress, the endorsement goes to JUSTIN MURPHY. Navy veteran Murphy came in a close third in his 2008 bid for this same nomination.
I'm sure this is just an innocent oversight and am glad I could be there to remind them of all the endorsements made by the Inquirer. I guess the Inquirer wasn't moved by Runyan's pocket constitution.
Former Tabernacle Township Committeeman Justin Murphy sought the Republican nomination for Congress in 2008, but he didn't vote for himself. According to records from the Burlington County Superintendent of Elections, Murphy did not cast a vote in the June 2008 primary. He did vote in 2009.
Quite frankly, if you can't vote for yourself, why should anyone else bother putting their support in your hands? It's going to make it difficult for Murphy to attack Runyan on his voting record. Good thing for Murphy, there is plenty more in Runyan's closet to scrutinize.
Interesting that the primary challenger here is a person who did everything he could to get the incumbent, John Adler, elected, and is now so disappointed that he can't sit by and let Adler go unchallenged. Adler should pay attention to this, the number of people his choices have alienated. - - promoted by Rosi Efthim
Greetings!
My name is Barry Bendar and I am running for Congress in New Jersey's 3rd District.
Like many of you, I'm an ordinary working class American. I'm married with two great children. I work as a database administrator during the day while I spend my evenings and weekends volunteering for good government. I became involved in politics 8 years ago at the municipal level. I jumped in feet first and became the Lacey Township Democratic Municipal Chairman while at the same time helping to raise money for and participating in campaigns for our local, county and state Democratic candidates.
As Jon Runyan ventures out onto the campaign trail, he's sure to get many questions that will give us an idea of where he stands. We'll try to keep track here at Blue Jersey. He was recently asked how he feels about the Employee Free Choice Act:Maybe he forgets the fact that the only reason he's able to sell people on the idea he may finance his own campaign, getting him the nomination is because of the efforts of the NFL Players union. He probably wasn't trashing them when he was cashing those checks. I'm not really sure how card check polls in the 3rd district and some speculate that Democrats missed their opportunity by not tackling the issue right after the President was elected. As the race goes on and Runyan has to say where he stands, we'll see more on the differences between the candidates. And we'll see what else Runyan benefited from in his prior careers, that he will now begin to trash as he seeks his next opportunity.
Well this is fun. As Jon Runyan brings his pocket constitution to try and woo the tea party vote, not everyone is buying his act. Late yesterday, we got this statement from the Burlington County Tea Party founder Bill Haney:
"Jon Runyan is becoming a joke around the District," said Bill Haney, founder of the Burlington County Tea Party. "Runyan has been offered, what?...four or five opportunities to debate Murphy and to prove that he is the better candidate and he keeps saying he is busy?! That's a load of chicken....manure.
But they were far from done. Apparently Runyan informed the Veterans for Education group that he would not participate in the debate they were proposing, but didn't bother to call. He had his campaign manager send an email saying he respectfully declined to participate:
"First of all, that is a slap in the face of all veterans. You don't send an email! That is really bush league. Secondly, you don't respectfully decline...that is not a reason, that's an excuse and a lame one at that," said Haney. He went on to say that the Runyan campaign is ducking the debate because their candidate would expose his weaknesses which in Haney's words "are legendary...Runyan couldn't tell you the difference between the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and taxi cab."
And it wasn't just Runyan who was the object of their attacks. They said the Republican party in all three counties should be ashamed of themselves:
"they found a guy who can spend his own money and they convinced him that he was smart enough to be a Congressman. I feel sorry for Jon because Adler will make a fool out of him if he gets past the primary. The party bosses should be taken outside and have the snot kicked out of them. Maybe Runyan will do that after he loses the primary."
Can I just say that I love Republican primaries. Primaries in general are entertaining, but the right side really knows how to put on a show. Below the fold, I'll put a list of debates and opportunities that Runyan has declined.
According to the report filed by the Ann Arbor Police Department, Runyan encountered the arresting officer on the night of March 9, 1995 after the cop observed the then-University of Michigan football star weaving over the line and onto the other side of State Street then stopping suddenly and inexplicably remaining stationary in the road for 20 to 25 seconds.
"I asked (Runyan) where he was coming from and he stated near Vaughn Street," the officer wrote in his report. "I asked (Runyan) how much he had had to drink tonight and he stated 'too much.' I asked (Runyan) how much was too much and he stated, once again, 'too much.' I asked (Runyan) where he did his drinking at and he stated at Mitch's and Touch Down's."
I don't remember seeing anything like this during Runyan's professional career and he says he learned from his mistake. We'll have to see if his opponents either in the primary or general pick up on this. You can see the police report here. I wonder if the tea partiers will ask him about it when he speaks to them tomorrow. (I wonder if he's bringing his pocket constitution?) Take the poll below the fold and tell us if you think this should be an issue in the campaign?
Jon Runyan traveled over the river to Philadelphia this past weekend to make nice with the Tea Party as he seeks the nomination of his party to challenge John Adler in November:
"Just like all of you standing out here, I'm fed up with what these career politicians are doing in this country," Runyan said. He said taxes were out of control, the stimulus bill didn't work, and people were confused by the health-care overhaul. "We really need to get people like Nancy Pelosi out of office today."
We interrupt this sound bite to remind you that that all career politicians aren't equal in the eyes of Jon Runyan as he only dislikes the ones he doesn't admire, like Chris Christie. But back to his rhetoric:
Runyan said he was used to having a playbook after his years in sports. Now, he said, he has a new playbook, waving a pocket-size Constitution.
"When you deviate from the playbook, you get your butt kicked by everybody around you," he said. "We need to return to this to turn this country around and give the power back to the people."
I love when candidates use props. He's probably saving the flag tie for later in the campaign. But waving the pocket constitution wasn't enough to get him the support of the local tea partiers as they chose to support Runyan's primary opponent Justin Murphy. It seems like everything will be a football analogy with him and this could be a long campaign.
The year is 2008!!! Longtime Republican Jim Saxton (who, aside from environmental issues, is fairly conservative), retired in this Democrat-trending district, and riding Obama's exceptionally well performance in Burlington County, which has a burgeoning African-American population, a Democrat won NJ-3.
Now, with Adler betraying progressive constituencies, an athlete, John Runyan, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, is taking a stab at that seat. But could his association with the Eagles hurt him???
Joe Rullo announced yesterday that he was dropping out of the Republican primary race for the party's 3rd Congressional District nomination. This is what he had to say about things:
"This wasn't well thought out," he said. "In fact, there was no thought to it at all."
I'd recommend thinking before committing yourself to a campaign for any potential candidate. So while Rullo is out, Justin Murphy presses ahead in his challenge against Jon Runyan to face John Adler in November.
So now that Jon Runyan is formally a candidate and has the official backing of the county parties in the Republican primary, he's venturing out and doing the media rounds.
In his interview with Vai and Gonzo on the Philadelphia ESPN affiliate, Runyan talked about the Eagles and as an afterthought got his standard talking point of why he wanted to run for Congress. More of the probing questions were on the topic of trading Donovan McNabb. They said if they asked any more, they'd need to have is opponent in, though he still got to plug his website and give his standard line.
If you were hoping for a more in depth interview about who Jon Runyan the candidate is and what he stands for on Fox and Friends, first I'm not sure why, but second you were disappointed. He got the questions again about the comparisons between football and politics, because doesn't every candidate chop block their opponent?
In this interview with insidetheiggles.com, he was asked two questions about politics. Does he worry people won't take him seriously and what's the most daunting part of politics. Not exactly hard hitting stuff for the candidate, but this is certainly more of the sports arena.
But even sites that should be dedicated to finding out where Runyan stands have dropped the ball. In this Politico interview, they focus more on the celebrity of his candidacy than who he really is and what he stands for. He got to rail on career politicians without being questioned, even though he names career politicians as people he wants to be like. Of course they got into him being the dirtiest player in the NFL and would he be like that in politics. He even got the extremely difficult question of what to do with the Washington Redskins, because voters in the 3rd district really care if their member of Congress can rebuild football franchises.
I'm a football fan and I liked Jon Runyan as a football player while he was a Philadelphia Eagle, but this is pathetic. Even the people who are supposed to ask him legitimate questions are star crossed and can't see past his time as a football player. It's a sad commentary on what has become of the media.
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Runyan said he was used to having a playbook after his years in sports. Now, he said, he has a new playbook, waving a pocket-size Constitution.
