Campaign '08

TRENTON (AP) ― Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain rallied New Jersey voters Monday, bringing their campaignsto the Garden State with Tuesday's presidential primary looming in the delegate-rich state.

McCain, who grabbed a big lead in the polls in New Jersey after Rudy Giuliani dropped out, was set to stump at a firehouse near Trenton, while Obama, moving closer to Hillary Rodham Clinton in new Garden State polls, did the same in northern New Jersey at the Izod Center arena in East Rutherford.

Clinton's daughter Chelsea and Republican Mitt Romney's son Craig were also in the state campaigning for their parent on Monday.

The presidential political action was new for New Jersey, which has held its presidential primary in June, usually after nominations were clinched. That often left the state with little say in choosing presidential candidates.

But the state moved its presidential primary to Tuesday to make the state more relevant.

Now, it's among 24 holding Tuesday contests amid races between McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on the Republican
side and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Obama for the Democrats.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are also vying for the Republican nod.

At stake Tuesday are New Jersey's delegates to the party conventions, with the Republican winner receiving all the party's 52 delegates.

The Democrats have 127 delegates, and 107 of those will be awarded proportionally according to vote totals in specially designated districts and statewide, so even a close loss can prove helpful to Obama. The other 20 are party and elected officials who can support whomever they choose.

New Jersey has the fourth-most Democratic and the seventh-most Republican delegates up on Tuesday.

McCain was at the Colonial Firehouse in Hamilton, a sprawling township of 90,000 in Mercer County. Supporters hoped the noon rally will cement the state for McCain and give him a boost in the fall election.

Obama was at the 20,000-seat arena in East Rutherford, where he was joined by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. It was Obama's second major rally in northern Jersey in less than a month.

The rally comes with a new Quinnipiac University poll showing Obama has cut Clinton's lead in New Jersey to five points.

"The eyes of the nation are going to be on New Jersey and a few other states to see whether the people here in New Jersey recognize that we have a candidate for the president of the United States that will inspire a generation of young people, bring our people together and face the great issues that we face in this nation," Kennedy told the crowd.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker said Obama supporters have a lot of work to do, but he expects Obama to win a stunning victory like the New Jersey-based New York Giants, who on Sunday defeated the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl.

"New Jersey spawned one upset," Booker said. "I believe we are headed to another upset Tuesday."

Though he didn't directly cite polls that show Clinton leading in New Jersey, Obama referenced the Giants upset victory.

"You can't always believe the pundits and prognasticators," Obama said.

Former New Jersey U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley was also at the rally and said momentum is in Obama's favor.

"He appeals to the best in us," Bradley said. Joe Sommer, 43, of Basking Ridge, attended his first ever political rally Monday at the Meadowlands.

"Barack is someone I believe in, and I'm not a political guy," said Sommer, who supports Obama's stance against the Iraq war.

Catriona Kennedy, 44, of Ridgefield, attended the Obama rally with her two sons, 12 and 15, who she said convinced her to switch her vote from Clinton to Obama.

"We feel like the future is in jeopardy," she said. But Clinton supporter U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez noted polls still show Clinton leading in New Jersey and California. "This is obviously an actively contested election, but the reality is she's ahead," Menendez, D-N.J., said on MSNBC.

More than 500 people cheered McCain in Hamilton, including about three dozen veterans and high school seniors studying politics who were invited to share the stage with McCain.

"One thing I know is we're going to take New Jersey and we're going to take this nomination and we're going to get it (Tuesday) with your help," McCain said.

McCain was joined in Hamilton by his wife, 95-year-old mother, Connecticut U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, who also chaired the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Giuliani also joined McCain.

"Sen. McCain put on an unbelievable campaign, just like the Giants," Giuliani said.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)