Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show on Wednesday:

⬛ Homicide investigation in Cranford: 2 best friends killed

😢 Two Cranford High School girls killed after Jeep strikes e-bike
🚨 Prosecutor urges residents to check security cameras for Jeep video
😢 Community mourns teens with flowers, donations, and GoFundMe support

CRANFORD — Homicide investigators are asking residents for evidence after two teenage girls were killed Monday afternoon in an e-bike crash with a Jeep.

Police are hoping to find security video that captured the Jeep in the moments before the crash.

The girls, both students at Cranford High School, were struck on Burnside Avenue around 5:25 p.m. while riding an e-bike. They were hit by a 2021 black Jeep Compass Utility 4D Altitude 4WD with tinted windows, according to Union County Prosecutor William Daniel.

The driver ran from the Jeep on foot but was found and taken into custody. The two girls were pronounced dead at the hospital. The identities of those involved in the crash have not been disclosed.

Daniel is asking residents and anyone in the area of Hillcrest Avenue, Burnside Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue in Cranford to check home surveillance cameras or dash cameras for footage showing the Jeep.

Anyone with information about the crash, including photos and video should call 908-654-TIPS (8477) or online at uctip.org. Information that leads to an arrest and indictment is eligible for a $10,000 reward from Union County Crime Stoppers.

⬛ NJ teachers union leader abused $40M for failed political aspirations, lawsuit says

💲 Teachers file lawsuit against the New Jersey Education Association

💲 The teachers union, headed by Sean Spiller, donated $40 million to his campaign

💲 NJEA denies wrongdoing, calling the challenge “baseless”

New Jersey teachers, angry that their dues funded the failed political aspirations of the NJEA president, have filed a lawsuit accusing the state's largest teachers union of a bait-and-switch.

Sean Spiller, the head of the union and former Montclair mayor, ran for governor in the Democratic primary.

He finished in fifth place with 11% of the vote after spending around $40 million on his gubernatorial campaign.

According to various media reports, the NJEA's super PAC, Garden State Forward, contributed the funds — funneled from the union's operating budget, which comes from member dues.

The lawsuit is baseless, said NJEA spokesperson Steve Baker.

"NJEA is a member-led union that operates as a representative democracy. Our members’ decisions about which candidates to endorse and what resources to use in support of those endorsed candidates are made by our elected bodies. We will defend the right of our members to join together in power to advocate for our profession and our students," Baker said.

According to the lawsuit filed in Mercer County, two teachers say the NJEA broke their contracts by donating dues to Spiller's campaign.

“I never agreed to bankroll a politician,” said Ann Marie Pocklembo, who has taught music in Hamilton Township in Mercer County for 30 years.

⬛ Gunfire during training leads to lockdown at Joint Base

❗ Lockdown ordered at the Joint Base MDL after reports of an active shooter

❗ Officials confirm no credible threat; precaution triggered false alarm

❗ Base is home to more than 46,000 members of the U.S. military

A lockdown prompted by reports of a possible active shooter at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst has been lifted.

All base personnel across the entire base, which spans Burlington and Ocean counties, were ordered to take cover just before 11 a.m. The Ocean County Sheriff's Office at 11:37 a.m. said there is no credible threat at the base and the lockdown was in effect as a "precautionary measure."

Just before noon, the base posted "ALL CLEAR ALL CLEAR ALL CLEAR" on its Facebook page.

⬛ Democrats wary support may be sliding among typically loyal voters in New Jersey

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — With weeks to go in New Jersey’s high-stakes governor’s race, key members of Democrats’ diverse coalition, including union and Black leaders, have been raising concerns — even when they’re not supposed to.

New Jersey state Democratic Chair Leroy Jones Jr. spoke on a recent Democratic National Committee conference call that was designed to project strength ahead of the fall elections. Yet he concluded with a warning.

“As a Black man, not just as a Black chair, we have to do better,” Jones said, referencing challenges messaging with the state’s Black community.

New Jersey has reliably supported Democrats in presidential and U.S. Senate races but has swung between Republicans and Democrats during its odd-year gubernatorial elections. Four years ago, Murphy defeated Ciattarelli in a closer-than-expected race, winning by about 3 percentage points.

⬛ Two new polls shows Sherrill leading NJ gov race

❎ Two new polls show Democrat Mikie Sherrill holding a lead in NJ governor’s race, despite recent controversy

❎ Sherrill faces scrutiny over her past at the U.S. Naval Academy, linked to a resurfaced cheating scandal

❎ Unaffiliated voters remain the wild card and could decide the election outcome

I have always cautioned that polls do not predict elections, but they can show trends.

Two new polls on New Jersey's critical contest for who will be our next governor show Democrat Mikie Sherrill maintaining her lead.

The results would suggest a recent Emerson survey showing the race is tied is an outlier and the race remains Sherrill's to lose.

Latest NJ Governor Polls Show Tightening Margins

What the polls show

Likely voters were polled by Fox News and the results show Sherrill with an 8% lead over Republican Ciattarelli, 50–42%. That number drops to 7% among all registered voters, 48–46%.

A second poll, from the conservative-leaning Quantus Insights, also shows Sherrill with a 2% lead among likely voters. The same poll had Sherrill up 10% over Ciattarelli after Labor Day.

Independent Voters Could Tip the Balance

What do the polls tell us?

The polls show Sherrill is leading, but this is still likely going to be a close race.

They are consistent in showing a trend of Sherrill entering the race as a favorite and maintaining a lead throughout the contest so far.

Much of that can be attributed to the fact there are still far more registered Democrats in New Jersey than registered Republicans.

The two new polls also show the Emerson Survey showing a dead heat and a Rutgers-Eagleton survey showing Sherrill with a 20-point lead are outliers.

The most recent surveys also show just how critical independent/unaffiliated voters are to this contest.

Partisan support is aligning with their respective candidates, but nearly a third of unaffiliated voters have yet to decide. How they break will likely decide the outcome.

These are typically voters who detest the vitriol of partisan politics and want to focus more on issues like affordability and utility rates.

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You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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