Doherty seeks Lance's state Senate seat

Now that State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington) is headed to Congress, his district-mate, Assemblyman Mike Doherty (R-Washington Township) plans to seek his seat.

Doherty is filing his paperwork with the Election Law Enforcement Commission today.

“I am announcing today that I am running for the state Senate seat, and I’m going to be spending today getting out my announcements and contacting the chairmen of the two counties, other elected officials and others involved in political circles,” Doherty told PolitickerNJ.com this morning.

Doherty’s heavily Republican district spans mostly rural Hunterdon and Warren Counties. The two Republican county committees must meet within 35 days of Lance's resignation to choose a replacement. Since there are more than two years remaining in Lance’s term, whoever the committees select to fill the seat will have to win a primary contest in June of next year and a special general election in November.

Doherty, who’s from Warren County, said that he’s prepared to run in both the county committee races and the June primary.

Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow (R-Flemington) is also said to be interested in the seat, though she could not immediately be reached for comment. By numbers alone, she could have a slight advantage. She comes from Hunterdon County, which has about 220 county committee members to Warren County’s 180.

Doherty, however, doesn’t think that the race will boil down to county loyalties.

“I think I should be the next Senator because I’m the senior assembly member and have done an excellent job representing Hunterdon and warren counties. I can see how some people will want to take it into a county-by-county deal, but I don’t think that’s good for the district,” he said. “I bring certain things to the table that make me a strong candidate that I think all Republicans could get behind….“I’m almost certain it’s not going to involve into a county-to-county fight, and I think that’s a little silly.”

One thing to watch for is who Lance will endorse, if anyone. When asked about the prospect on Sunday night, Lance said “I don’t want to count my chickens before they’ve hatched.”