By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and top Democrats from the region descended on Princeton Sunday to urge support for Hillary Clinton and tout the importance of getting out the vote in nearby Pennsylvania, a battleground state in the tight race for the White House.
“We know how much is at stake in this election,” said Jennifer Holdsworth, the director of Ms. Clinton’s New Jersey campaign, at the opening of Ms. Clinton’s state headquarters on Nassau Street.
Some 900 people were expected, with room for about 200 of those in the office to watch in person and an overflow crowd watching a simulcast via video hookup. The event drew politicians from across the state, including Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, state Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-14) and Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-16). But the crowd did not include any of the major contenders for governor, like state Sen. President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-3) or Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, or even U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12), who represents Mercer County.
Though Ms. Holdsworth said the campaign is not taking New Jersey for granted, it is a state that has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1992 and one that Ms. Clinton is expected to carry on Nov.8 against Republican Donald Trump.
Recent polls show the contest is tight, amid questions about Ms. Clinton’s health following an incident last week at a 9/11 ceremony where she had to be helped into a vehicle and with her campaign later saying she had pneumonia.
Sen. Booker, once seen as a potential vice president running mate with Ms. Clinton until she picked U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, said he was “amazed” at how “tight” the race is.
“This is going to be an election that is won on the fundamentals, it is going to be won in the trenches,” said Sen. Booker, at times wiping sweat from his head in the hot office where the air conditioning was not on.
In an interview afterward, one party leader talked of getting “boots on the ground” in Pennsylvania.
“I think the marching orders should be, first, make sure everybody in New Jersey gets out and votes,” said state Assemblywoman Liz Muoio (D-15). “And then we’ve got to turn our efforts to Pennsylvania.”
Speakers sought to energize the crowd, but there were few references to Mr. Trump, direct or otherwise.
“I get annoyed that I go in some communities and I see (campaign) signs of some other guy, who don’t have a clue,” said John Currie, chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. “It annoys me that I have friends that think he’s the best thing since sliced bread.”
“I don’t have to tell the people in this room what this election means this particular year and what we are dealing with on the other side,” Ms. Holdsworth said. “In fact, I’m not even going to broach it, it’s not worth talking about.”
Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in July, sought to add some urgency by pointing to how close Election Day is.
“This is not fun-and-games time now,” he said. “We’re within 50 some odd days. This is a time where the rubber meets the road and we all have to get working.”
“It was a phenomenal event,” said Princeton Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller afterward.
Ms. Crumiller had expressed concerns about security in the wake of bombings in New York and New Jersey. Plastic wrap was used to tape up trashcans and newspaper machines along Nassau Street to prevent anyone from putting something inside. Police were on the scene as well.
