. . . thanks to a group called Freedoms Watch which is pouring money into a negative advertising campaign to defeat the previously favored John Adler.
This should be an easy pick-up for Dems. Though previously a Republican seat for many years held by retiring Jim Saxton, the GOP primary featured a bloody no-holds-barred South Jersey street fight between the two rival GOP gangs in the district, Ocean County and Burlington County. Ocean County lost but both sides exhausted their piggy banks, and John Adler was quietly able to amass more than a million dollars for the general campaign.
But then along comes Freedom's Watch, a 501(C)(4) group closely affiliated with the Republican Jewish Coalition and financially supported by wealthy pro-Israel neo-con donors such as casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and Philly Flyers/Sixers owner Ed Snider (who promoted Sarah Palin at the first home game to a chorus of boos). The group was formed to counter MoveOn.org with a pro-war advertising campaign, and support for pro-war candidates.
I live in the 3rd district, and recently I've been bombarded by robo-calls, junk mail and TV ads all criticizing John Adler (they're not allowed to mention his opponent), all paid for by Freedom's Watch. I wonder whether these ads are legal since I was under the impression 501c4's could only engage in education campaigns about specific issues and not become directly involved in candidate races. Maybe I'm wrong, but then again maybe I'm not.
I guess we'll find out on November 4 is this kind of negative advertising really works.