South Jersey Republicans seem genuinely excited that Jon Runyan, the 6'7, 330 lb. former Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle, is considering a bid for Congress against freshman Democrat John Adler next year.  "Our great country is headed in the wrong direction, and it's clearer every day that career politicians are incapable of solving the problems we face," Runyan said in a statement released today.  

Runyan greatest obstacle to winning the Republican nomination in District 3 could be Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore, who became the most powerful party leader in the state last week when Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie won Ocean County by 70,000 votes.  Gilmore has been anxious to see an Ocean County candidate in the race; GOP sources say he might want State Sen. Christopher Connors (R-Lacey) to run.

Adler won the seat in 2008 after twelve-term Republican Jim Saxton (R-Mount Holly) retired.  He beat Medford Mayor Christopher Myers 52%-48% to become the first Democrat to win the seat since 1884.

When another famous ex-football player, Jack Kemp, first ran for Congress in 1969, he told a reporter: "Pro football gave me a good sense of perspective to enter politics: I'd already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded and hung in effigy."  If Runyan wins, he would join former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler, a North Carolina Democrat, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

John Farmer, one of the Hall of Famers of New Jersey journalism, will retire from his post as the Star-Ledger's Editorial Page editor tomorrow.  The veteran reporter and columnist, who took over editorial responsibilities for the state's largest newspaper when Fran Dauth left last year, will be replaced by columnist Tom Moran.  Today is Farmer's last day.

With the defeat of Gov. Jon Corzine, some Democrats facing unemployment may have found the promised land: Rutgers University.  Sources say that Rutgers may be filling a few key slots with soon-to-be ex-Corzine administration officials over the next few months.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the front runner for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2013, will headline a fundraiser next month for Senate Judiciary Chairman Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge).  The chairman of Sarlo's fundraising event is his boss, literally: North Jersey developer Joseph Sanzari.

Several Democrats have asked Gov. Jon Corzine to consider asking New Jersey Supreme Court Justices John Wallace and Virginia Long to retire early so that the outgoing governor could fill their seats before he leaves office, according to sources close to the governor.  There was a discussion about this with the front office staff, but Corzine has declined to consider appointing new Justices during the next two months.

New Jersey might lose one of its thirteen House seats after the 2010 census is completed; new districts will be drawn by a bi-partisan six-member commission in time for the 2012 elections.  The Democratic and Republican State Chairs will each appoint two members, and the Senate President, the Senate Minority Leader, the Assembly Speaker, and the Assembly Minority Leader will each appoint two members.  Several legal experts told PolitickerNJ.com that Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) could appoint two congressional redistricting commissioners before the end of his current term. The law requires members of the congressional redistricting commission to be appointed by June 15, 2011, but does not specific how early an appointment could be made.  Sources close to Codey would not say if this is something the Essex County Democrat might consider.

In January, Jon Corzine will become New Jersey's sixth living former elected Governor.  That's the most since Robert Meyner became Governor in January 1954, with former Governors Walter Edge, James Fielder, Morgan Larson, Harold Hoffman, Charles Edison, and Alfred Driscoll still alive. 

New Jersey has elected different governors in each of the last four elections, and six different governors over the last seven elections.  New Jersey Democrats have not re-elected a governor since 1977, and the only Democrats to win re-election since then were Bill Bradley (in 1984 and 1990), and Frank Lautenberg (in 1988, 1994 and 2008). 

In addition to Brendan Byrne, Thomas Kean, James Florio, Christine Todd Whitman, and James E. McGreevey, there are two unelected former governors still living: Donald DiFrancesco and Richard Codey.

Gov. Jon Corzine is vacationing in St. Barts, according to a report in the New York Post.  Corzine, girlfriend Sharon Elghanayan, and two friends arrived by private plan on Friday and are staying in a rented villa on Flamands Beach, the newspaper reported.

After losing two Democratic statewide primaries, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) seems to have settled into a career path as a congressional insider. He has forged a close political alliance with the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and has emerged as a key congressional insider.  Andrews was designated by the Democratic leadership as a point man on the health care bill that passed Saturday night; he got national television exposure, and a front page New York Times photo. 

Christopher Christie's 100,000 vote margin in the race for governor is the second biggest win for a Republican challenger against a Democratic incumbent in New Jersey history.  Christie topped Albert Hawkes, who unseated incumbent William Smathers in the 1942 U.S. Senate race.  The record still belongs to Hamilton Kean, who ousted Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Edwards by 233,000 votes in 1928.

Overall, Christie ranks third on the all-time list of highest pluralities for a challenger against an incumbent. The record for the biggest plurality for a Democratic challenger against a Republican incumbent belongs to A. Harry Moore, who ousted Kean by 230,000 votes when he ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 1934.