LoBiondo getting strongest challenge since first elected to Congress from South Jersey

A poll shows that U.S. Rep. Frank Lobiondo (R-South Jersey) has a real race on his hands this year. 

The survey by New Jersey’s Richard Stockton College shows the race between LoBiondo and Democratic challenger Bill Hughes Jr. very tight. Hughes is about six percentage points behind with a four percent margin of error.

“This is the straight head to head,” said Sharon Schulman who runs Stockton’s external research. “It gets even a little bit closer when you push people and sell well would you be leaning towards or more likely then it goes to 46 to 42.”

Schulman says the polling is running along party lines.

“Congressman LoBiondo gets his support primarily from men and senior citizens while Bill Hughes is strongest among voters younger than 30 and African-American voters some of that were seeing as the typical Democrat-Republican split.”

There’s a long history between LoBiondo and the Hughes family.  In 1992, he ran and lost to incumbent Bill Hughes Senior.  After two decades representing the district, Hughes chose not to run for re-election in 1994 and LoBiondo won easily as part of the “Republican revolution” of that year that installed Newt Gingrich as House Speaker.

In the years since, LoBiondo has cruised to easy victories, often winning more than 60 percent of the vote.

The sprawling 2nd Congressional District covers the southern-most parts of New Jersey, including all of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem Counties.