I live in New Jersey, which is more or less a blue state because of our proximity to some major cities, in spite of a strong conservative showing in the suburbs and more rural areas. That means occasionally a Republican manages a statewide election, but they don't come across as very conservative. Chris Christie was one such example. I could not understand the enthusiasm for the man outside our state among conservatives and Republicans. I guess it's nice to think we're flipping a blue state, but there was very little conservative about him. But besides living in New Jersey, I also live in the most conservative county in the state, which is where Christie originated, but you'd never know it from his policies, which seemed oriented more towards his Democrat cronies in Newark & Camden.

And this year, the long-time Congressman from our district, Representative Sopranos Esplanade Project, retired, so his seat is up for grabs. The Republican running, Jay Webber, isn't half bad and what's really funny is his Democratic opponent is pretty much running as a Republican. There is very little mention of her party in her ads (which are ALL the hell all over the place, since the out-of-State Democrats are pouring lots of money into her campaign hoping to finally flip that seat - seriously Rep. Frelinghuysen is from a political family that his office in Washington DC had a campaign poster from when one of his ancestors ran for Vice President as the running mate of Henry Clay. The family's political history actually predates the Grand Old Party), and the two most common I've seen have her promising in one that she'd never vote for Nancy Pelosi and another one emphasizing her military service and term as a prosecutor, before promising to reduce deficits.

We also have a Senate race in the state, with near-convicted felon Bob Menendez facing his most serious challenge due to said felonies a hung jury says he didn't officially commit, but for which he was censured by the US Senate. The Republican ads have been mostly harping on that stuff, and for good reason. Lately, I've actually started hearing commercials where the Republican, Bob Hugin is allowed to talk about himself, saying something other then "I'm Bob Hugin and I approve this message". Bob's promises, aside from referencing his Marine service, is that he is pro-choice, supports workplace equality and will stand up to President Trump, because Marines don't avoid fights.

The Democratic House candidate is appealing to pro-military, tough on crime, fiscal conservatism and as an adversary of Nancy Pelosi. The Republican Senate candidate is appealing to pro-abortion feminism and as an adversary of President Trump. And dogs and cats are living together.