As Rep. Rob Andrews prepared to make formal his bid to unseat fellow Democrat Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey's senior Senator, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a snap one-day poll showing Lautenberg with a wide lead in an effort to convince Andrews to stay out of the race. That didn't work, as Andrews announced the next day that he would get in the race.

The rest of the poll, though, shows Lautenberg remains in strong position to keep his job. The survey, taken by Benenson Strategy Group between 4/1-2, polled 517 likely Democratic primary voters for a margin of error of +/- 4.3%. Lautenberg and Andrews were surveyed.

Primary Election Matchup
Lautenberg 52
Andrews 21

A polling memo provided to the DSCC by Benenson cites Lautenberg's strength in Northern New Jersey, where voters have little notion of who Andrews is and favor the incumbent by a wide 61%-11% gap. The congressman runs much better in the southern part of the state, near his base in Camden, and leads in the Philadelphia media market by a 50%-29% margin.

Lautenberg is also in a good position in terms of his relationship with the Democratic base. In the notoriously fickle state, 57% of party voters say they will vote to re-elect the senator, while just 12% are planning to vote against him. But Andrews is no pushover, and with more than $2.4 million in the bank through January and just two months before the state's primary, he could give the 84-year old incumbent a serious challenge.

A few months ago, New Jersey was seen as a possible sleeper race Republicans might have a chance at picking off, especially given Lautenberg's historically low approval ratings and narrow victories. But several candidates have backed out, and businessman Andrew Unanue, the party's latest recruit, has faced a bumpy road in his initial weeks. Over the weekend, biotech executive John Crowley also decided against a race, as PolitickerNJ reported.