New Jersey's 7th Congressional District.

Voter's Guide: 
New Jersey's 7th Congressional District
Mike Ferguson vs. Linda Stender.

-- Jeff Hauser

The NJ-07 congressional race features 3-term Republican incumbent Mike Ferguson running against Democratic challenger and 3-term State Assemblywoman Linda Stender.

Although both candidates are strong supporters of Israel, they take conflicting positions on several key issues, including reproductive freedom, stem cell research, church-state relations, and the War in Iraq.

Here's some more information on how the candidates stand on issues of importance to the Jewish community:

	Linda Stender (D)	Mike Ferguson  (R. Incumbent)
Israel	Strong supporter of Israel. Policy statement: "Linda Stender fully supports the state of Israel, its right to defend itself against terrorist networks and hostile states, and its right to exist as a sovereign and independent nation."	Strong supporter of Israel Voted in favor of the Fiscal Year 2007 Foreign Aid Appropriations Bill, which pledged $2.46 Billion in aid to Israel. Signed the Ros-Lehtinen/Engel urging sanctions against Syria. Also signed a House letter urging the EU to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Reproductive Freedom	From her website: "I am unequivocally pro-choice, across the board, with no restrictions, because I trust women."	Pro-Life: would support a constitutional amendment overturning Roe v. Wade. Rep. Ferguson has voted with the right-wing National Right to Life Committee 94% of the time on key legislation since 2001.
Stem Cell Research	From her website: "?Linda Stender, like the majority of Congress, strongly supports stem cell research." Again, "Linda understands that cures to terrible diseases may be discovered through stem cell research and she chooses to put her faith in science."	Stands with President Bush in opposition to stem cell research. Rep. Ferguson voted against H.R. 810 (bill vetoed by Bush), which sought to repeal restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research.
Separation of Church and State	Policy statement: "Linda Stender opposes the efforts made by radical right-wing groups to undermine the constitutional divide between church and state." As such, Stender ?opposes the teaching of creationism or ?intelligent design? in public schools, prayer in public schools, and the display of religious artifacts in public places like courthouses and government buildings."	Voted against NJDC recommendations on every major piece of legislation dealing with separation of church and state proposed during his time in congress: including bills addressing discrimination in hiring practices amongst federally-funded faith-based organizations, the political activity of religious groups, and prayer in public schools. As such, Rep. Ferguson received a 100% rating from the radical Christian Coalition in 2004 for his voting behavior in the 108th Congress.
Iraq	Stender believes that the U.S. should have built more international support before going to war in Iraq, and that the Bush Administration lacks a clear exit strategy for ending U.S. involvement in Iraq. Stender also believes that the War in Iraq has diverted valuable resources resources from the effort to capture and defeat Al-Qaeda and other terrorists.	Strong supporter of U.S. war in Iraq. From his website: "Congressman Ferguson believes decisions about reducing U.S. forces should be made by the commanders on the ground, not by politicians in Washington."
Additional Links	Campaign website	House website. Campaign website.