BOB MENENDEZ

Former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie takes a photo of Gov. Jon Corzine at a swearing in ceremony in Jackson Township last summer.

Chris Christie’s refusal to have his picture taken with Rick Merkt at a Republican event in Summit was probably just the former federal prosecutor being angry with his Mendham neighbor for entering the race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.  But the drama does raise an interesting question: how should people read Christie if he declines future photo opportunities? 

Back in 2006, when Barack Obama came to Camden County to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Bob Menendez,  then-State Sen. Wayne Bryant, not yet under indictment but under fire for some ethical mishaps, joined the two on stage – creating an incredibly awkward moment for the Menendez campaign. 

Getty Images Photo

U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-Mt. Holly) will retire tomorrow after 24 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

When Jim Saxton and Mike Ferguson leave Congress tomorrow, New Jersey will have nineteen living former Congressmen.  The oldest is Peter H.B. Frelinghuysen, the 93-year-old father of U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen.  He first won an open seat in 1952 and served until his retirement in 1974.  The youngest is the soon-to-be-unemployed Michael Pappas, 48, a Republican who won an open seat in 1996 and lost his bid for re-election to a second term two years later.  Pappas works for the Small Business Administration and will likely lose his job when the new administration takes office this month.

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Defense attorney Joseph Hayden says he won't seek appointment as the U.S. Attorney from New Jersey

Joe Hayden, a prominent defense lawyer whose name has surfaced in legal and political circles as a potential pick for U.S. Attorney, took his own name out of the mix today.

“It is an honor that people within the legal community suggested that my name be considered as a candidate for the next United States Attorney,” said Hayden in response to an inquiry from PolitickerNJ.com.  “I have reflected upon it, but I am convinced that I have longstanding commitments to clients -- a half dozen clients -- that would not make this possibility feasible.”

Hayden represents Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero, who was indicted in September on eight corruption counts.  He also represents former Nets star Jayson Williams, who faces a retrial for manslaughter over the shooting of his limo driver in 2002. 

Senators Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) and Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) both voted in favor of the automaker bailout that failed last night.

The purpose of the vote was to end a filibuster by the bill’s opponents. While supporters of the bailout had 52 votes in favor of cloture, they fell eight short of the 60 needed to proceed.

The vote was mainly, but not entirely, along party lines.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), right, with his predecessor as Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)

It’s official.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this morning turned over the reigns of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to New Jersey’s Bob Menendez, the group’s vice-chair (D-Hoboken). 

“Our Caucus will be well-served by Bob Menendez, whose mastery of policy is matched only by his mastery of politics,” said Reid in a statement.

Schumer departs with a successful track record, presiding over the Democrats’ takeover of the Senate in 2006 and further gains this year.  Menendez said he hopes to build on that. 

Last week's fight between Henry Waxman and John Dingell for chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce committee also featured a less visible battle waged by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone -- only the latest in a series of moves to effectively position himself for a potential promotion to the Senate.

Soon after the election, Pallone joined Waxman's whip operation to take on the automakers' leading advocate in Congress in what appeared to be a long shot, unprecedented challenge to the seniority system. It was a gutsy move that paid off. His support was largely under the radar, but it's the kind of step that will get observers in Washington to take him more seriously.

Working against Pallone was Rob Andrews, who whipped votes for Dingell. Just as in his primary senate challenge to Frank Lautenberg, none of his colleagues from the state delegation backed him in that effort. Most insiders no longer consider Andrews a serious contender for Senate.

That currently leaves U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman as Pallone's most likely serious opponent for the seat. Rothman was an early supporter of Barack Obama and served as his campaign's Northeast Regional co-chairman, while Pallone was a high-profile Hillary Clinton supporter. But Rothman's greatest advantage may be that he hails from the 9th Congressional District which includes portions of Bergen and Hudson counties -- the Democratic party base.

U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez, with U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews

U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, who was re-elected to a fifth term two weeks ago, has a 50%-36% approval rating, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released early this morning.  U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, who doesn’t face the voters again until 2012, has a 38%-30% approval rating.  Menendez was at 35%-31% in September.

Biotech millionaire John Crowley is still mulling a bid for the Republican nomination for Governor.  If he wins, he'd be the first Governor with no previous public sector experience since Woodrow Wilson moved from college president to Governor in 1910.  But in U.S. Senate races, the lack of political experience is more prevalent: New Jersey sent first-time candidates to the Senate in 1942, 1978, 1982 and 2000.

And if you're an extreme political junkie: if Leonard Lance wins a House seat tomorrow, he'll join a fairly elite group -- New Jersey  Congressmen who have served in both the State Senate and General Assembly.  The last ones were Bob Menendez in 1992, Jim Saxton in 1984, Harold Hollenbeck in 1976, Joseph Maraziti in 1972, and Elijah Hutchinson in 1914.

State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex)

JERSEY CITY - Asked about state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) said he liked the idea.

"She is one of several people in our party who would be an excellent candidate," Menendez told PolitickernJ.com at an Obama rally on Saturday. "It's the governor's decision ultimately, of course, and I do not envy him, because there are numerous qualified people."

Other potential lieutenant governor candidates among the Democrats include Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing).