Saturday's annual Far Hills Race Meeting in New Jersey was a chance for food, fun, horses and politics.
Mixed in between picnics and parties of the more than 40,000 estimated attendees were signs of the 2012 election. The largest political sighting was a party hosted by Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) for supporters in a tent along the back stretch of the raceway. Over two dozen Lance supporters mingled, while watching the horses and talking politics, both New Jersey and national, during the course of the day long event.
Among the national topics discussed were the presidential race and several U.S. Senate races including the North Dakota battle between Democrat Heidi Heitkamp and Republican Rick Berg and the Arizona race between Republican Jeff Flake and Democrat Richard Carmona.
At picnic areas set up in the race infield and on the hillside, political signs could be spotted regularly. While signs for President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney were not as much in demand, signs promoting Sen. Bob Menendez (D), who is seeking a second term, were spotted in the crowd. Signs for local candidates dotted the hillside, while cars could be seen sporting bumper stickers for Obama or Romney.
Attendees also sported Romney and Obama stickers on their clothes. On one of the New Jersey Transit trains leaving the race, several twenty-something men were chanting their support for Romney.
Menendez is facing a challenge from state Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth County), while Lance is being challenged by Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (D-Somerset County).
The Far Hills Race Meeting, also known as The Hunt, is an annual steeplechase fundraiser for the Somerset Medical Center, regularly drawing over 40,000 people annually from across northern New Jersey and the New York metro region. The event is held annually in Far Hills, a wealthy enclave of under a 1,000 people in northern Somerset County. Notable present and past residents of Far Hills including former GOP presidential candidate Steve Forbes and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.
Photos from the 2012 Far Hills Race Meeting
