Andy Unanue

Tom Wilson and Other Failed GOP Bosses Write Bad Script for NJ GOP

From left: Folsom Mayor Tom Ballistreri, Assemblyman John Amodeo (R-Atlantic) and Egg Harbor Township Mayor James McCullough.

GALLOWAY - Businessman Andy Unanue bested the field of GOP candidates for U.S. Senate at the Atlantic County Republican Convention here tonight, winning yet another line as part of an in absensia candidacy that is not even a week old.

Vacationing out of the state, Unanue beat state Sen. Joe Pennacchio and economist Murray Sabrin, who both spoke at the event held in the Renault Winery.

TOMS RIVER - If you came to the Ocean County Republican convention hoping for a floor fight tonight for the party nod for U.S. Senate, you were disappointed.

In typical Ocean County Republican fashion, the party awarded its line with efficiency and brevity – easily selecting Goya Foods heir Andy Unanue as its choice for a U.S. Senate candidate. Unanue already had the backing of powerful Republican Chairman George Gilmore, and had won the hearts and minds of the screening committee from his vacation spot in Vail, Colo. via telephone conference.

The committee voted by voice, overwhelmingly ratifying the decision of the screening committee to endorse the man who’s come to be the establishment’s candidate over his two Republican rivals: state Sen. Joe Pennacchio and Ramapo Finance Professor Murray Sabrin.

Pennacchio and Sabrin did not attend.

Millionaire businessman Andy Unanue, who entered the race for New Jersey's U.S. Senate seat on Sunday, lives in New YorkAndy Unanue, who entered the race for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination on Sunday, lives in New York, according to a housekeeper who answered the phone at his parents’ home in Bergen County.

Voting records show Unanue listed at an Alpine residence. A search of tax records for that home, however, shows that it is owned by his parents, Joseph and Carmine Unanue. The housekeeper confirmed that the home does not belong to Andy Unanue and he does not live there.

Unanue does own a residence at 25 Central Park West in New York City.

Unanue's campaign said that, for all intents and purposes, Unanue lives with his parents.

"Andy Unanue lives in New Jersey, he votes in New Jersey, his car is regsitered in New Jersey, he pays New Jersey auto insurance, and his business is in New Jersey," said Unanue Campaign Manager Mark Duffy. "Andy Unanue is New Jersey.”

The four year old family feud between Andy Unanue and his cousins over control of Goya Foods continues to rattle the Senate candidate's fledgling campaign.

Mercer County Republicans voted to postpone the endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate tonight and will wait and see if biotech millionaire John Crowley decides to enter the race.

“We have two new candidates, one from Mercer County,” said Mercer County GOP Chairman Roy Wesley. “So it’s almost like we have one of our own who we need to give some consideration to.”

Crowley, 39, was a Bristol-Myers Squibb executive eleven years ago when he found out his 15-month-old daughter and four-month-old son had a rare and fatal neuromuscular disease. He wound up leaving to head up a series of biotech firms and has raised a reported $200 million for research of genetic diseases. Harrison Ford is expected to play Crowley in a film about his life.

In an informal vote, taken by a show of hands, Mercer Republicans overwhelmingly supported deferring a formal endorsement in the Senate race, and authorized the party’s executive committee to award the organization line sometime before the April 7 filing deadline.

State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio and Ramapo College Professor Murray Sabrin attended the convention. A third candidate, millionaire businessman Andy Unanue, is vacationing in Vail.

Sen. Sean Kean (R-Monmouth), right, with Assemblyman Sam Thompson (R-Middlesex), is confident Unanue will be a strong candidate. 

PORT MONMOUTH - The Monmouth County Republican Committee nominated Bergen County businessman Andy Unanue for U.S. Senate at their convention tonight at the VFW building.

A late entry to the race who was introduced to members of the party's screening committee via conference call last night, Unanue beat rivals state Sen. Joe Pennacchio and economics Prof. Murray Sabrin by a vote of 146, 83 and 33 respectively.

Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson says his attorney has contacted Yahoo! to trace the origin of a political prankster who has impersonated Wilson in e-mails to GOP leaders and initiated discussions on Andy Unanue's candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Three GOP County Chairmen responded to the fake e-mail, which was then forwarded to PolitickerNJ.com by the purported author, who says "as a college student, I originally set up this email as a gag thinking no one would really think this was coming from the State Chairman - as you can see, I was wrong.  To be clear, I was very upset about the Chairmen pushing this guy Andy into the race, since I like both Senator Pennacchio and Dr. Sabrin."  Copies of the e-mail were also sent to the Pennacchio and Sabrin campaigns.