Cape May GOP wants both Assembly seats in District 1
By Wally EdgeGOP insiders say that Cape May County Republicans want to nominate two Assembly candidates to run against Democratic incumbents Jefferson Van Drew and Nelson Albano in 2007. Cumberland County has the Senate seat and Republican Nicholas Asselta of Vineland will head the legislative ticket. Trenton Republicans had been pushing a slate of Cape Mayor County Freeholder (and Sea Isle Mayor) Leonard Desiderio and former Cumberland County Freeholder James Sauro.
In a district the George W. Bush carried in 2004, Van Drew won a massive landslide in his bid for a third term last year: he finished almost 9,000 votes ahead of his running mate, nearly 16,000 votes ahead of the Republican incumbent, and more than 24,000 votes in front of the other GOP candidate. Helped by Van Drew's coattails, state Democratic money and numerous mistakes by the state GOP, Albano, a Vineland labor official and advocate for tough drunk driving laws, defeated six-term Republican Jack Gibson by 6,749 votes. Gibson trailed Albano in Cape May County by 107 votes (running more than 2,000 votes behind the GOP Sheriff and County Clerk candidates). Gibson, who lost to Van Drew in 2001 and returned in 2003, is possibly the only Assemblyman in modern New Jersey history to lose the same seat twice.
Republicans were in trouble in April 2005 when their candidate for the second, seat, Upper Township Committeeman Andrew McCrosson, forgot to file his nominating petitions. That left a perennial gadfly, George Cecola, unopposed. State Republicans tried to mount a write-in campaign to nominate Sauro, but without the support of Cape May Republicans, they failed, allowing Cecola to take the second slot.
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Aside from the write-in attempt, the GOP didn't play down there
Aside from the write-in attempt, the GOP didn't play down there last time precisely because Gibson had made his deal before the McCrossen oops. In battle you aren't supposed to leave your man behind but when your man constantly has to wait and see how the other side votes, at some point you ask yourself if he still is or ever was your man. The GOP should fight for District 1. It is a pretty conservative mindset down there. Van Drew is widely popular but only because he is a political chameleon who has been afforded by his party ample opportunities to walk away from important votes. Albano has a compelling backstory but he is really nothing but a one hit wonder. How many times can you hear it before you go numb to the story? Mary Previte had a dramatic prisoner of war story to tell as well but there was only so many times you could be held captive to hearing it before you gave thought to chopping your arm off just to get away. When things went south for her, that story was no help. As long as Van Drew and Albano have to keep playing "conservative" to win over their voters, there is no reason the GOP can't counter with "real" conservatives of their own and take back those seats. Only time and money will tell, I suppose.