Tea Party energy fuels effort to recall senator

Tea Party groups in New Jersey are hoping momentum from Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul’s primary win in Kentucky spills over into their fight to recall Sen. Robert Menendez (D).

The primary results in Kentucky, Arkansas and Pennsylvania have
energized activists in New Jersey, said RoseAnn Salanitri, a Sussex
County Tea Party activist. “It’s about finally the people stepping up and stepping out of that
apathetic coma. People are starting to look at what their records are
and saying we’re not going to accept this.”

Lawyers for the recall effort, backed by the state’s Tea Party groups, will present their oral argument to the New Jersey Supreme Court Tuesday.

Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, the New Jersey Democratic Party launched a website called “Recall Reality,” which it said “gives New Jerseyans the chance to see what this ‘movement’ is really about.”