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Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry is shown in this file photo. Perry will campaign in New Jersey for GOP U.S. Senate nominee Steve Lonegan on Tuesday.
(Getty Images)
TRENTON — Texas Gov. Rick Perry — a conservative firebrand and possible presidential rival to Gov. Chris Christie in 2016 — will be in New Jersey on Tuesday to campaign for Steve Lonegan and against Obamacare.
Perry will hold two town hall meetings with Lonegan tomorrow entitled “Obamacare? Who decides.” The first will take place at 11 a.m. in Smithville, in Atlantic County, followed by a 1:30 p.m. event in Bayville, in Ocean County. The two will end the day in North Jersey, at a rally at the Bendix Diner in Hasbrouck Heights.
Lonegan strategist Rick Shaftan said that the two men will also hold a private fundraising event during the day.
Lonegan, a conservative activist who served three terms as mayor of the small Bergen County borough of Bogota, is running against Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker to fill the unexpired term of the late U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J), who died in June. Booker has held a comfortable or large lead in the polls, but a Quinnipiac University survey released last week showed Lonegan trailing Booker by a closer-than-expected 12 points.
The Perry visit marks the second time a potential rival to Christie in 2016 visits New Jersey. Earlier this month, Lonegan held two fundraisers and a rally with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has feuded with Christie.
Christie is not scheduled to attend any of the events with Perry on Tuesday. Shaftan said nobody from the governor's campaign has complained.
“They want Steve to win. they’re not going to say ‘Don’t bring people in.’ Things are going really good,” Shaftan said.
Even though the two men are targeting Obamacare, a Monmouth University poll released this morning showed that a plurality – 45 percent – of New Jersey held a favorable view on it, while 40 percent held an unfavorable view. The poll also showed that voters are confused about the law.
“It’s to call attention to the fact that Obamacare is kicking in tomorrow,” Shaftan said. “It’s a big day. Rick Perry’s been one of the governors who’s fighting it the most.”