Gilmore says he hasn't heard from Runyan
Left to right: U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill), former Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jon Runyan, and State Sen. Christopher Connors (R-Lacey).

Gilmore says he hasn't heard from Runyan

By Matt Friedman | November 12th, 2009 - 12:58pm
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Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore is not ready to roll over and anoint former Eagles tackle Jon Runyon as the Republican nominee for Congress in the 3rd District.

First, he at least needs to hear from Runyan, who lives in Burlington County.

"I'll wait for Mr. Runyan to make contact and we'll take it from there, but obviously there are a lot of viable candidates out there," said Gilmore.  "Some are from Ocean County, some from Burlington, and we'll have to wait and see how they all withstand the scrutiny that will be put on their strengths and weaknesses." 

Republicans from Burlington County, which makes up roughly the same portion of the 3rd District as Ocean County, recruited Runyan and wasted no time pushing out a statement quoting him as being "very interested" in running.  

But Gilmore - who gets Republican street cred for Christopher Christie's 70,000 margin of victory in Ocean County -- has his own stable of potential candidates, foremost among them state Sen. Christopher Connors (R-Lacey Twp.). 

Ocean County, which is represented by two congressional districts, has never put a native son in the House. 

Last year, Gilmore's party ran Freeholder Jack Kelly in a nasty and costly campaign against the eventual Republican nominee, Lockheed Martin executive and then-Medford Mayor Chris Myers (former Tabernacle Township Committeeman Justin Murphy also ran, getting nearly as many votes in the primary as Kelly did, and plans to run again this year).  Republicans feel they would have beaten U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) - who last year became the first Democrat to represent the district since the late 19th century - had they avoided the primary. 

Gilmore also noted that Runyan - a free agent who is not active in the NFL right now but has not retired - has expressed interest in past interviews about returning to play football.

"These are the questions we want to ask, but I have yet to have the opportunity to discuss this with Mr. Runyan," he said.

Camden County has one town in the district, but it's a big one: Cherry Hill, which is dominated by Democrats but, by its sheer size, has enough registered Republicans to factor into the decision making process.  Camden County's Republican chairman, Rick DeMichele, wasn't ready to call the search process over either. 

"I haven't heard from Mr. Runyan either, but I would suspect that he'll reach out to me if and when he's decided he's actually going to make the run," he said.  "Until that time I would hope that Burlington County Republicans and Ocean County Republicans would get together and try to make sure we get the best candidate for the run, regardless of where they're from."

Gilmore to Layton

I'm a real power broker and if you cross me you will learn the hard way! Layton can't wipe his on tushy without asking Paulsen's permission.

Connors for Congress!
And the name plays in the dem areas within the 3rd. (7th Leg)

That second statement

That second statement certainly explains why you are where you are today, JC.

Vote Rich Sexton for Congress!

Knee pads and lip balm

Runyan will need both when he goes to Toms River and kow tows to his future boss.

Maybe he can borrow yours or Adlers?

And "future boss"? Already writing off that slick homo from Cherry Hill, eh Kenny Boy?

TROOC

Runyan also needs to pay respects to the Traditional Republican Organization of Ocean County which opposes Gilmore's stranglehold on Ocean County politics, especially if he wants to avoid a primary challenge.

This is the same crowd that knocked off Gilmore's crony Carl Block as Mayor of Stafford, and they've come pretty close in recent primaries to knocking off Gilmore's stooges.

http://christiegonewild.blogspot.com

Wake-Up Call

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