Remember all that talk of a stronger and fairer New Jersey from Phil Murphy?

I think we all know New Jersey hasn’t gotten any stronger under Murphy’s lack of leadership.

Remember that time we pointed out on the show it is “uncomfortably coincidental” that up to $2 million was cut from our veterans while Governor Phil Murphy can find $2 million for a defense fund for illegal immigrants?

I’m fairly certain New Jersey’s veterans don’t think that taking money from them and giving it to someone else was very fair.

The list of Murphy not being fair is long, 8,000 nursing home deaths come to mind.

Maybe, when it comes to Murphy, my idea of fairness doesn’t matter. Even if that’s true, attempting to get someone running against you tossed off the ballot is definitely not fair.

According to the New Jersey Globe, that’s exactly what Murphy’s Democrats are doing. The New Jersey Democratic State Committee has filed a challenge to the validity of Edward “NJ Weedman” Forchion’s his nominating petitions.

Regular readers of this blog know I despise petition challenges. Back in August 2019 I wrote, in part, “I believe working to remove a candidate who meets the requirements to run for an office from the ballot is a gutless move that proves the person challenging signatures on a nominating petition has very little faith in their chosen candidate to win on ideas.”

I’m not naïve. I get it. Petition challenges are a fact of life in political campaigns.

The difference here is Murphy, the guy who claims to be creating a fairer New Jersey, isn’t being very fair in allowing his people to have competition removed from the ballot.

Granted, it is possible the “NJ Weedman” probably should have spent a little less time getting high and a little more time collecting signatures, but still, how is New Jersey fairer by working to knock him off the ballot.

I guarantee if Gregg Mele, the Libertarian candidate, had done like Forchion and filed with only 836 petition signatures the Democrats would not be challenging his petitions.

Let’s call this what it is: Team Murphy is concerned about Jack Ciattarelli’s campaign. Murphy’s cohorts are happy to get anyone who may take votes from Murphy off the ballot.

Trust me, Murphy’s team looked at the Green Party candidate, Madelyn Hoffman’s, signatures. I guarantee it. Fortunately, for her, she filed with too many signatures to even come close to getting removed from the ballot.

Forchion on the ballot would be a little bit of a problem for Murphy. Pot smokers, especially young pot smokers, would have a place to show their displeasure with Murphy over the lack of availability of legal weed in New Jersey. Those voters aren’t going to be Ciattarelli voters, they would run to the NJ Weedman.

Team Murphy knows Forchion on the ballot hurts him, exactly how much nobody can be sure, maybe as much as the 5.76% Chris Dagget got in 2009.

Whatever amount of Murphy’s vote Forchion would take we may never know because the Democrats are working to get the NJ Weedman tossed form the ballot. And, Murphy is okay with the guy being tossed from the ballot and there’s nothing fair about that.

Obviously, Murphy’s fairer New Jersey doesn’t apply to anyone running against him!

Note: Before I got around to posting this, New Jersey Globe reported Forchion will seek write-in votes.

Three U.S. Senate race polls came out this week, Stockton, Farleigh Dickinson and Quinnipiac, two of the three excited Republicans, the Quinnipiac poll no so much. Those three polls were enough to have the Cook Political Report move the race from “Likely Democrat” to “Leans Democrat.”

The folks at Cook Political Report “doubt that Menendez is only ahead by two points and question the 11-point margin. His lead is probably in the mid- to high- single digits.”

The way I read that is that basically, the Bob Hugin versus Bob Menendez Senate race could be one of the most exciting races in the country. It also appears the Farleigh Dickinson poll is most accurate, and it still means Republicans have more work to do.

Frankly, that work, meaning extra votes for Hugin are going to have to come out of South Jersey. It can be done because every one of the polls shows that New Jersey voters have an unfavorable opinion of Menendez and voters believe he is dishonest.

Add to that the fact that Bob Menendez hasn’t a clue where South Jersey is. Cumberland County Republican freeholder candidates Arvene Kilby Hays and Frank Spatola, Jr challenged county Democrats to stop hiding from Menendez.

Kilby Hays and Spatola might be on to something. Menendez hasn’t been seen in Cumberland County, Hugin has been there as recently as Wednesday. Menendez couldn’t find the Cohanzick Zoo with GPS. For that matter Menendez couldn’t find Red Bank Battlefield in Gloucester County, Cowtown Rodeo in Salem County and the list goes on.

There’s a reason Menendez doesn’t come to South Jersey. Sources close to his campaign have said, privately, they know Menendez is going to perform poorly in South Jersey. It makes sense given that in Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties Menendez’s primary election opponent, who spent no money, received 40% of the vote or better and won in Cape May and Salem. In Gloucester County Menendez won by the skin of his teeth.

Democrats in South Jersey simply aren’t excited about Menendez. In CD2 progressive Democrats aren’t excited about Jeff Van Drew nor are the progressives excited about Donald Norcross in CD1. If South Jersey Republicans can generate just a little more excitement for Hugin it might be enough to make those progressives skip the Senate portion of their ballot or maybe even #VoteGreen18 for Green Party candidate Madelyn Hoffman.

As the Cook Political Report put it:

This race is more competitive than a Senate contest in a good year for Democrats in a state as blue as New Jersey should be. This is entirely on Menendez and the baggage he brings into the race. He maintains the advantage going into the final stretch, but the race is worth watching and moves to the Lean Democratic column.

“The race is worth watching” means A Republican could win a Senate race in New Jersey for the first time since gas cost 55 cents a gallon. It’ll take a lot of hard work.