NEW YORK, NY January 28, 2008 —With just a week to go before New Jersey's first-ever early presidential primary, the Garden State is getting its fair share of national attention, especially from the democrats.

State Senate President Dick Codey, who has backed former Senator John Edwards' failed bid, says he will decide by Wednesday if he will switch his allegiance to either Senators Clinton or Obama. He has already been called by former President Clinton; the former President will also come to Camden County tomorrow for a mid-day college rally. Senator Clinton was in Bergen County last week.

State election officials say since November, almost 50,000 new voters registered in time for the February 5th primary. 42,000 signed up as independents who can vote in either party's primary. But democratic partisans were ecstatic that their party attracted over 6000 new party members, while the GOP signed up just 300 states wide over the same period.

County elections officials say thousands of people have already cast absentee ballots, under New Jersey's new 'no excuses absentee ballot law.'

In New Jersey, for WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.