ROB ANDREWS

Rob Andrews’ decision to return to the U.S. House of Representatives is not surprising, especially to those political insiders who suspected that he bought a special insurance policy back in April when he made a seemingly abrupt decision to challenge Frank Lautenberg in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary.  By negotiating a deal that designated his wife, Camille Andrews, as his replacement, Andrews created continued speculation that he would come back to Congress if he lost.  During the Senate campaign, and through most of the summer, Andrews insisted that he would not run for the House seat he’s held since winning a November 1990 special election; his constant Shermanesque statements were not taken seriously. 

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews officially announced this morning that he will seek reelection to the House seat that he’s held for 18 years, just months after he took his name off the ballot to challenge U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg and said on multiple occasions that he would not seek to return to Congress.

In a statement issued while he held a press conference in Camden to announce his decision, Andrews said “It was not my intention to answer the call of my neighbors and friends who have indicated they would stand with me if I sought re-election.” But after exploring private sector opportunities and discussing it with his family, Andrews said that “after much deliberation, thought and prayer, I have decided that I will seek re-election to the House this fall.”

Andrews said that the decision of who will be the party’s nominee will be left up to the county committees that comprise the district. The county committees, however, are virtually certain to vote to put Andrews back on the ballot. The district’s huge Democratic advantage also makes Andrews a near shoe-in for reelection.

Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson said that U.S. Rob Andrews’s decision to seek reelection to Congress shows that a new Congressman is needed in the 1st District.

“Rob Andrews has spent nearly 20 years in Washington. It’s time for a change,” he said just before boarding a bus to watch Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin speak at the Republican National Convention. “It’s a sad statement that the Democrats have to rely on defeated retreads. If you can’t trust Rob Andrews when it comes to one of the most personal decisions of his life, I don’t know what you can trust him on.”

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), who butted heads with U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews when he decided to challenge Frank Lautenberg in the Senate primary, kept his statement on Andrews’s return to the ballot short and not-so-sweet.

“Mr. Pascrell has no comment at this point but was not surprised by the news,” said Pascrell spokesman Caley Gray. 

Former Rob Andrews Senate Campaign Chairman Michael Murphy said that Andrews changed his mind and “put service to our country after self.”

“Rob’s a good friend and colleague, and I hold him in high regard and have great respect for him,” he said. “It was a uniquely personal decision, and one he made with the input of his friends and family.”

Murphy said he’s been urging Andrews to reconsider his promise to leave the House seat since he lost the U.S. Senate primary against Frank Lautenberg.

MINNEAPOLIS - His name was in the mix of those South Jersey Democratic Organization stalwarts who might step up and replace a retiring U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights).

But amid the cry of foul by Republicans, and off-the-record hand wringing by fellow Democrats, Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) said Andrews’s trip to Denver to hear Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) deliver his acceptance speech may have played a role in Andrews’s decision to go back to Congress.

"You listen to the speech-making in Denver, and if you have the opportunity to be part of that, you’re in a position where you can be even more effective," said Burzichelli.

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights): Politicker file photo 

MINNEAPOLIS - Hearing the news that U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) intends to pursue re-election to the U.S. Congress after repeatedly denying that he would run again, Camden County Republican Chairman Richard DeMichele bewailed Andrews’s actions as "distasteful and misleading."

"If you can’t believe him when he tells you about one of his most intimate decisions, how can you trust him making decisions in Washington?" DeMichele said of the man who forsook his congressional seat to unsuccessfully challenge U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park), swearing all along that he was done with Congress.

The last time a legislator gave up his seat to run statewide, only to keep their old job after losing the primary, was in 1989.  Assembly Speaker Chuck Hardwick finished third in the race for the Republican nomination for Governor.  During the summer, Assemblyman Peter Genova decided not to seek re-election, paving the way for Hardwick to seek a seventh term.  Hardwick won, narrowly, but the Republican who was originally nominated for the open seat, former Westfield Mayor Ronald Frigerio, lost the general election to Union County Freeholder Neil Cohen.

The good news for 1st District Republican Congressional candidate Dale Glading is that he now knows who his opponent is.

But he’s not happy about it.

"Frankly, I am outraged that Rob Andrews has once again gone back on his word to the people of New Jersey, revealing for the umpteenth time his uncontrollable political ambitions,” he said. In a statement.  “A man's word should be his bond, and Rob should be ashamed of himself for breaking his promise not to re-enter the race.  The people of the 1st District deserve a representative in Congress who they can trust, not a compulsive liar like Rob Andrews." 

Glading is running a long-shot campaign in this heavily Democratic district. 

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce his intentions with regard to his House seat, according to Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr.

Perr would not confirm that Andrews is going to run again, but said he will support him if he does.

“I understand that Rob has a press conference tomorrow, but my position has always been that Rob Andrews is the best person to hold the seat and if that’s going to be his final decision, then I support it 100%,” he said.

Update: A press release from Andrews said he's slated to make a "major announcement" at 10 am tomorrow at Camden's ACIN Camden Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology at the Waterfront Technology Cente.