Gilmore will likely field a House candidate

There seems to be two certainties in the race for Jim Saxton’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives:  that candidates from Burlington and Ocean counties will face off in a Republican primary, and that the GOP nominee will face a tough general election against State Senator John Adler, the likely Democratic nominee.

The GOP front runner is Diane Allen, a four-term GOP State Senator from Burlington and former TV news anchorwoman for the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia.  But Allen must first establish some form of détente with Burlington GOP leader Glenn Paulsen, with whom she is engaged in a fairly vicious intra-party battle, before she can expect to win a big plurality in her home county. 

If another Burlington candidate, like the Rev. Aubrey Fenton, a Black minister and Burlington County Freeholder, or former GOP State Chairman David Norcross – who would have a considerable fundraising advantage -- enters the race, Allen would be competing in Burlington with rivals who stand well to her right – not a bad place to be in a Republican primary.

Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore has wanted to see his county elect a Congressman for more than two decades, and insiders say the powerful insider will have little difficulty uniting his party behind a single candidate for Congress.  While there are no less than five candidates actively seeking support, sources close to Gilmore suggest that veteran Ocean County Freeholder Joseph Vicari and Assemblyman Brian Rumpf are the leading candidates – at least for now.