Former Assembly Majority Leader Paul DiGaetano is expected to drop his bid for Republican State Chairman, and is mulling opportunities to team up with one of the remaining candidates according to sources close the negotiations. Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore has reportedly offered DiGaetano a new position -- Co-Chairman -- if he would back incumbent Tom Wilson for the post.
Wilson has the most committed votes at this point, sources say, but is not yet at the 50% mark. DiGaetano was reportedly running third, behind former Morris Township Mayor Peter Mancuso. Mancuso has also made overtures to DiGaetano.
One insider suggests that a DiGaetano endorsement of one candidate could push two Republican County Chairmen toward the other contender: DiGaetano played an active role in Todd Caliguire's campaign for State Senate in Tuesday's GOP primary, and was aware of a controversial mailing that linked Kevin O'Toole, the Essex County GOP Chairman, to the Rev. Al Sharpton. O'Toole's running mate was Wayne Mayor Scott Rumana, the Passaic County GOP Chairman.
O'Toole and Rumana do not have votes in the election for State Chairman, which will be decided by the 42 elected Republican State Committee members.
DiGaetano spent sixteen years in the State Assembly before running for Governor in 2005. He is a close ally of Bergen County GOP Chairman Guy Talarico, who resigned this week following Caliguire's primary loss.
Michael Doherty. a West Point graduate and one of the state's most conservative legislators, will take his seat in the State Senate today. A ... >
Everybody needs to start a new job with a list of priorities and Chris Christie is no exception. There might be a thousand things that need to get ... >
Political discourse in America contains much in the way of intellect or intellectual honesty. One considers the Federalist Papers with wistful awe: ... >
As pundits and party leaders look to next year’s Congressional elections in NJ, it appears that freshman Democrat John Adler is the most vulnerable ... >
When will NJ Republicans start acting like Republicans rather than Democrats. Time to stand up for your principles, assuming they have any left. >
As in any transition, speculation is rampant as to whom Governor-elect Chris Christie will appoint as Chief of Staff, State Treasurer, and Attorney ... >
Now that the dust has finally settled after the grueling campaign for governor, there are a number of lessons that we can draw from this ... >
When he was growing up, Chris Christie's folks must have taught him that when he went to a new playground, he should pick a fight with the ... >
I have a Blackberry device that I am not completely thrilled with. It’s clunky and not intuitive like an IPhone, which I would rather ... >
New Jersey voters repudiated Governor Jon Corzine's policies of the past four years on November 3rd. Republican Chris Christie and Independent ... >