Key Burlco towns could decide Adler-Runyan

They voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 but turned around and voted for Republican Chris Christie in 2009.

Now, eyes are turning to these centrist voters of Moorestown, Mount Laurel, and Evesham - along with their neighbors elsewhere in Burlington County - who could decide the tight race between freshman Democrat U.S. Rep. John Adler and his Republican challenger, former Eagle Jon Runyan.

"If [Runyan] wins there by decent numbers, he wins the election," Evesham Mayor Randy Brown said, speaking of the so-called "M-Towns" (Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Medford, and Evesham, which is commonly referred to as Marlton).

The towns sit in the geographical and political center of the wide, meandering Third Congressional District. The district stretches from Cherry Hill up along the Delaware to Democratic strongholds like Willingboro and then across the state to Ocean County.

As a whole, the district leans right, and for 24 years it sent moderate Republican Jim Saxton to Congress. But after Saxton retired in 2008, Adler, a longtime state senator, narrowly defeated a Medford Republican for the seat.

In this year's race, one new poll showed Runyan with a lead for the first time, while another showed Runyan and Adler tied.

In Ocean County, the Berkeley Township Democratic municipal chairman, Ralph Furlio, acknowledged that Adler will lose Ocean County - by 12 percent or less, Furlio hopes. But in populous Cherry Hill, where Adler lives - and where his wife is a former councilwoman - Adler is expected to cruise to victory.

That leaves Burlington County as a battleground, so the candidates have worked these towns hard. Asked when Runyan and Adler had visited Moorestown, Mayor Daniel Roccato responded: "When haven't they?"

Roccato, a Republican who has not endorsed either candidate, said the men are going to "parades, visiting folks in restaurants, [attending] party-sponsored forums."

One of Adler's campaign headquarters is in Evesham, while Runyan lives and runs his campaign in Mount Laurel.

"I think those towns will lean toward me," Adler said.

Adler campaigned door-to-door on Monday in Mount Laurel but dismissed the idea that one area of the district is more important than another. He said he had been in Cherry Hill, in Ocean County, and throughout Burlington County during both the campaign and his nearly two years in office.

Runyan, for his part, has - in the last two weeks alone - visited the Marlton Senior Citizens Club, the Marlton Recreation Council, the Marlton Diner (with Gov. Christie in tow), the Medford VFW fish fry, the Medford Rotary Club, the Medford Business Association, and three Evesham residential developments.

In a statement, the Runyan campaign said: "We view the 'M' towns as a critical bellwether in this race and have focused on them intensely."

In Evesham, Obama won by the same margin, 54 percent, as Christie. Half of the voters are unaffiliated, and registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by about 3,000. The mayor, Brown, is a former Democrat who before that was a Republican. In 2008, he emceed Adler's election-night bash. He now supports Runyan, whom he once coached.

Giving candidates the edge in towns like Evesham will be "people who tend to believe in change with fiscal restraint," said Ben Dworkin, political scientist at Rider University.

But this won't necessarily help the nonincumbent, Dworkin said, since Adler has voted against some Obama spending initiatives.

On Monday, Runyan stopped in to shake hands during breakfast at the Weston Club at Sagemore, a 55-and-over community off Route 73. Runyan, with Brown and Evesham council candidate Steve Zeuli at his side, stopped at each table as the residents munched on oatmeal.

Several Weston Club residents said they were turned off by the negative TV ads from politicians across the region.

"One says it's a lie, one says it's truth," said Jack Swartz, 83, who was still undecided in the Adler-Runyan race. "I'll be happy when the election is over."

Adler will have a chance to win over Swartz on Wednesday, when he's scheduled to stop at the same building over breakfast.

Inquirer staff writer Cynthia Burton contributed to this article.