Brian Levine

The news out of the Somerset County Republican convention tonight was that Assemblyman Rick Merkt (R-Mendham) finished in third place, far ahead of favorite son Brian Levine, the Mayor of Franklin Township.  Merkt received 28 votes, and just ten votes were cast for Levine.   There are 94 County Committee seats in Franklin, though it was not reported how many seats are filled and how many attended tonight's convention.

Christie was endorsed today by Levine's home town GOP Municipal Chairman, Bob LaCorte.

At the end of this GOP convention cycle - a process that has been mostly public agony for those gubernatorial candidates not named Chris Christie - the Somerset County Republican Committee will back the former U.S. Attorney.

Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan showed he has some legs left here as the candidates head beyond the county committee processes (with the sole convention of Hunterdon remaining next Tuesday) on their way to connect with voters prior to the June Primary. 

But Christie still dusted him.

At the organization's convention in Bridgewater tonight, Christie received 204 votes, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan received 56 votes, Assemblyman Richard Merkt got 28, Franklin Mayor Brian D. Levine 10, and inventor David Brown 1.

In a contested freeholder race, the committee will go to a second ballot vote to decide between Bernards Committeeman John Carpenter and Bridgewater Council President Pat Scaglione.

Either Carpenter or Scaglione will run with incumbent Freeholder Jack Ciattarelli. 

Former prosecutor Thomas Roughneen is out.

BRIDGEWATER – Here are the GOP gubernatorial candidates and a murmur running through the crowd already sounds like a coordinated build up to what will result in a sustained cheer for a winner as these formalities are meanwhile settled with two-minute apiece pitches.

Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan walks to the front of the room at the Elks Club. 

It’s not his crowd. He starts off on a high plain, going to currency issues in a speech he caps with a diss of President Barack Obama that rings in the room like a sure applause line at this Somerset County Republican Convention.

Franklin Township Mayor Brian Levine will seek the support of his home county tonight as Somerset County Republicans meet to award the organization line in the Republican gubernatorial contest. But Levine must compete without the help of his own municipal chairman, Bob LaCorte, who endorsed former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie for Governor today.   Freeholder Bob Zaborowski, a former Mayor of Franklin, also endorsed Christie.

Candidates for Governor who receive public financing are required to participate in two debates before the primary election.  Unless Assemblyman Rick Merkt (R-Mendham), Franklin Mayor Brian Levine, or inventor David Brown can show that they have raised and spent $340,000 by next Monday, the GOP primary debate will be a two-man contest between former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and former Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan.

There will be no Democratic primary debate, since Gov. Jon Corzine is not taking public financing and former Glen Ridge Mayor Carl Bergmanson is not likely to raise and spent $340,000 by April 6.

Chris Christie won the endorsement of the Atlantic County Republican organization tonight, defeating Steve Lonegan by a vote of 932-207, 81%-18%.  Rick Merkt received four votes and one vote was cast for Brian Levine.

Christie also won the Salem County GOP convention, but the local organization has declined to release vote totals. 

With his county convention vote totals adding up to less than 1% of all those cast, GOP gubernatorial candidate Franklin Twp. Mayor Brian D. Levine would appear to be at a serious gut check point in his campaign, particularly as he heads into Thursday night’s committee vote in his home county of Somerset.

But Levine has no intention of standing down – neither before nor after the Somerset convention.

“I’m in it,” Levine told PolitickerNJ.com on Sunday night. “Unfortunately, it’s tax season and as a CPA I’ve had to be focused on that more than I would have liked. If I did it again (mount a gubernatorial campaign), might I farm out some business in order to spend more time connecting with committee people? Yes, I think so. Hopefully, I’m a quick study."

FORDS –  Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie won his 14th Republican organization endorsement for governor today, winning the line in heavily Democratic Middlesex County.  

“We’re going to work very hard here not only in the governor’s race, but every race here up and down the ticket, because it is time to bring back Republican values to Middlesex County,” said Chrsitie.  

Christie got 462 votes to former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan’s 122, Assemblyman Rick Merkt’s (R-Mendham) six, inventor David Brown’s four and Franklin Township Mayor Brian Levine’s one.  

The convention took place at The Royal Albert’s Palace, a cavernous Indian-theme hall  where the two ornately decorated elephants above the podium weren’t originally intended to evoke the GOP, but served that purpose anyway.    

Unlike other county conventions, this one was open, with any registered Republican from Middlesex County – not just committeemen and women –able to pay a $10 fee and cast a vote.  Campaigns could even pay for their own delegates.  That gave Christie rival Steve Lonegan, whose campaign has often complained of a biased convention process, an opportunity to turn out his supporters en masse.  But Lonegan campaign officials said they didn't campaign much harder here than anywhere else.

Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie has won 80% of the actual recorded votes in the race for the 2009 GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Chris Christie leads Steve Lonegan 80%-17% among actual recorded votes cast so far at county conventions and screening committees in the race for the Republican nomination for Governor.  Christie, the former U.S. Attorney, has won each of the eight contests, amassing a 1,495-321 vote lead over Lonegan, the former Mayor of Bogota.  Assemblyman Rick Merkt has won 30 votes so far (2%), and Franklin Mayor Brian Levine remains in the single digits with just eight votes. Four votes have been cast for David Brown, a South Brunswick inventor.

Assemblyman Rick Merkt, right, finished third at the Mercer County GOP convention, beating Franklin Mayor Brian Levine 14-2.

There was almost an upset in Mercer County last night, with Assemblyman Rick Merkt (R-Mendham) coming within two votes of taking second place away from former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan.  In the race for second, Lonegan beat Merkt by a 16-14 vote.  This was Merkt’s best showing in the contest for the Republican nomination for Governor, and he easily outdistanced Franklin Mayor Brian Levine, who won just two votes.  A fifth candidate, South Brunswick inventor David Brown, received no votes.