By Ian Bush

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) - Just ahead of the special Election Day in New Jersey, political celebrities are going public in support of their favored candidates.

Over the weekend, Sarah Palin addressed a Tea Party crowd of about 4,000 people in Ocean County, urging a vote for Republican Steve Lonegan.

President Obama hasn't made an in-person appearance for Cory Booker, but the Democrat's campaign yesterday put a video on YouTube with the endorsement from the White House:

"Cory Booker has spent his entire life bringing people with different perspectives together, regardless of party, to take on tough challenges.  Take it from me: now more than ever before, that's the kind of leader we need in the senate,"  Obama said.

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Both the president and Palin also addressed the government shutdown, with the former Alaska governor calling it a "dishonor" to the memory of military veterans -- like the late Senator Frank Lautenberg, whose death brought about the special election.