"I think that it's clear that the vast majority of the people in this country do not benefit from the tax cuts offered" by Republicans in Washington. "It's time to have tax policy that will be fair to the middle class and have people who are at the very top of the income tax pay their fair share," she said in an interview Monday.
Adler could face a tougher first race than her husband did, who was elected in 2008 after a longtime Republican incumbent retired.
The family's hometown of Cherry Hill was cut from the district during congressional remapping in December, making the already-Republican-leaning district more GOP-friendly, said Patrick Murray, a political analyst and director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
"The loss of Cherry Hill and the addition of Brick Township out in Ocean County really locked this up for Republicans," Murray said. "It was never a strong Democratic district, and now it is really out of reach for them."
But another political observer said Adler has advantages.
"Many people in the district hold a fondness for John Adler," said Brigid Harrison, a political science professor at Montclair State University, "and some of that will translate."
John H. Adler died in April of complications from a heart infection. He was 51 and left behind four sons, the youngest of whom is age 10.
Shelley Adler could also be helped by President Obama's candidacy. "This election year is going to be so divisive," Harrison said, and "chances are the president is going to spend a good deal of money getting out the vote. . . . Democratic forces will be rallied."
After the retirement of Republican U.S. Rep. H. Jim Saxton, who served the district for 24 years, John Adler rode the coattails of Barack Obama to win an open-seat election.
