By Wally Edge The race for Governor is a toss-up and Democrats are favored to retain control of the State Assembly, according to a new PolitickerNJ.com Battleground 2009 analysis of state and county campaigns.  This breakdown will include key municipal races in future weeks.

In the Assembly, Democrats have 42 Safe seats, and four seats that are Likely Democratic.   The most vulnerable legislators are Assemblymen Nelson Albano (D-Vineland) and Matthew Milam (D-Vineland).  The politically competitive 14th district, where Republicans have been unable to recruit top tier challengers, has Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) and Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) in the Safe Democratic column.  Two challengers worth watching are: Arthur Marchand, a former Cumberland County Prosecutor, Surrogate and Freeholder who is challenging newly-elected Assemblywoman Celeste Riley (D-Bridgeton) in District 3; and former Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks against four-term Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood), who has lost two races for Congress, in District 22.

In county races, there are competitive contests in Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cumberland, Monmouth, and Salem counties.

Incumbent members of the State Assembly face primary challenges in eighteen legislative districts.  At this time, only one challenger, former Assemblyman Craig Stanley (D-Irvington), is competitive.  Stanley is challenging Ralph Caputo (D-Belleville) and Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark), in a contest that Leans Incumbent. In District 25, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Twp.) must keep an eye on two candidates competing for an open seat.