BILL SPADEA

If the GOP’s long march of self-combusting U.S. Senate candidates failed to inspire a lot of rank and file Republicans, the brief flirtation Princeton businessman John Crowley had with a June Senate primary run held for some the more lasting promise of an "it" factor party champion.

The lineaments of the Crowley narrative were indeed compelling for Republicans.

Son of a cop who died in the line of duty; Naval Intelligence officer; Successful CEO; Young and devoted father who founded a biotech business to create a disease cure to save his children; Hollywood movie subject with a movie apparently due out next year, according to Republican sources.

Crowley’s would-be entry into the race had come under the radar, as Andy Unanue prepared for his return to New Jersey from the ski slopes of Colorado intent on claiming his party’s in absentia nomination.

A Republican group calling itself "Building the New Majority" has formed with former Congressional candidate Bill Spadea serving as president and John Crowley serving as the organization's honorary chairman.

A Princeton businessman, Crowley was a dream U.S. Senate candidate for a small, dedicated group of Republicans who with Spadea’s help sought to recruit him as a replacement for crackup GOP Senate candidate Andy Unanue.

Crowley backed out of contention hours before the state deadline for primary candidates, citing concerns about how his small business could proceed were he to pursue a full-time Senate campaign.