Menendez campaign coverage

In just a few hours, I'll be reporting live from Senator Bob Menendez's election night headquarters at the East Brunswick Hilton. Menendez has been leading Republican challenger Tom Kean, Jr. by a few points in the latest polls, and his campaign has referred to tonight's festivities as "a victory celebration." In addition to live viewing of race results for campaign supporters, the event will also offer remarks by Sen. Menendez, senior New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and other local and state officals. I'll be blogging and posting photos of the proceedings as the results stream in.

Menendez is campaigning on a firm anti-war stance and his record of outspoken opposition to President Bush's policies. The Menendez campaign has painted Kean as Bush's follower and ally, while Kean has retorted with calls for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation and a depiction of Menendez as corrupt and deeply entrenched in a political machine. Tonight's results will determine which message was ultimately more successful in deciding one of the closest Senate races in the nation.

In the meantime, I'll be tracking the mood of the Menendez campaign and intervewing campaign officials and supporters to deliver an inside look at the last, tense moments of a Senate race. I'll be reading my comments and checking my e-mail (jzebrows@princeton.edu) as well, to be able to ask questions that you, our readers, want the answers to.

-- Jonathan Zebrowski