State Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1) hasn’t formally decided whether he will pursue re-election this year, he told PolitickerNJ.com.

He’s going to take January to come to a determination about his plans.

He said he’s not operating on a timeline that’s any different from one he employed in the past.

“I’ve always done it this way,” said the Democrat, who occupies a swing, GOP-targeted district.

For the record, he said he is committed to remaining a member of the Democratic Party, and would only run as he's always run, as a Democrat.

Van Drew insisted that Gov. Chris Christie’s high favorability rating won’t impact his own decision-making.

“I thought the speech was good,” said the senator, referring to Christie’s State of the State Address. “He has brought change in terms of his genuine focus on bipartisanship, which is something I’ve talked about for years. And you can’t keep taxing, tolling and surcharging people to death.”

Atlantic County GOP Chairman Michael Donohue told PolitickerNJ.com that letters of intent regarding Republican candidacies are due Feb. 15. 

“The convention will be in March,” said Donohue. “I think time frames are similar for Atlantic and Cumberland, too.  A few people have expressed interest, but it would not be fair to them to name them until they have submitted letters, if they do.  The conventions will then decide who our candidates will be.  I am confident, however, that we will have a full legislative slate that will be very competitive in LD1.”

Van Drew beat up his 2011 Republican challenger.