Christopher Myers

Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore met with ex-Eagles tackle Jon Runyan yesterday, who told him that he is "strongly leaning" toward running.

But Gilmore, who said he had a "nice conversation" with Runyan, is not sold on him as the candidate to take on freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill). 

"This is nowhere near being over at this point," said Gilmore.  "As a professional football player there's some name recognition. On the other hand, we don't know much about his background.  He's never held elected office, never run for office.  We don't know how he would handle a situation and a campaign," said Gilmore. 

Gilmore is upfront about who his favorite potential candidate is: state Sen. Chris Connors (R-Lacey Twp), who already represents roughly half the congressional district in the legislature.  Connors could not be reached for comment, but he told the Asbury Park Press yesterday that he is "not likely" to run. 

If Runyan decides to run, he will likely to have the full support of the Republicans from Burlington County, which makes up a roughly equal portion of the congressional district as Ocean County.  But even if Connors is out of the picture, Gilmore thinks a number of other candidates deserve consideration, including Toms River Councilman Maurice Hill and former Virginia "Ginny" Haines, a former assemblywoman and state lottery commissioner.   

"I don't want those comments to be taken as being opposed to Runyan, because I'm not," said Gilmore.  "He's a candidate that brings certain attributes and we have other candidates that bring other attributes." 

Gilmore does not believe that the process is already spiraling towards a primary like in 2008, when the eventual nominee, Christopher Myers, had to spend half a million dollars that Republicans think could have been better spent against Adler in the general election.

But what if the two county parties are unable to agree on a candidate?

Just in case you're interested: Republican Christopher Christie won New Jersey's third congressional district by 35,947 votes over Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, 116,911 to 80,964.  Last year, Democrat John Adler won the third district House seat by 13,268 votes, 52%-48%, the first Democrat  to carry the seat since 1884.

Less than sixty weeks remain before the 2010 midterm elections, and Republicans still don't have a candidate to challenge freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) in a district they held continuously from 1884 to 2008, and where their candidate won 48% of the vote in the last election.  During his first six months in office, Adler raised more than any other House freshman, and had $869,275 cash on hand as of his last report.  If the GOP were to pick their candidate today, he/she would need to raise $25,000 a week for the next year just to remain financially viable.

Peter Cammarano, elected Mayor of Hoboken in June by a narrow margin and gone in July after federal prosecutors arrested him for taking bribes, seemed to believe that he was on his way to political stardom.  While still a candidate for Mayor, Cammarano appeared to be planning a bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor.  The events that led to the resignation late last night of Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr were tied to Cammarano's empire building strategy.  Perr, it seems, was to be Cammarano's man in South Jersey. 

Just a week before Cammarano was arrested, he had a lunch meeting with a group of about a dozen young Democrats from different parts of the state to talk about his statewide prospects.  Perr was there.  Perr even sent out an e-mail to Democratic donors talking up Cammarano and seeking contributions to his campaign.  He did this while Republicans were outspending Democrats in Evesham by a 4-1 margin as they won back control in the May elections - a move that truly annoyed some key South Jersey Democrats.

Perr had personal political ambitions too.  He aggressively lobbied party leaders to win the Democratic nomination for Congress last year when it appeared that Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) would not return to the House.  Sources say that in a Global Strategy poll paid for by the Burlington Democratic organization, Perr tested himself as a potential candidate for State Senator in District 8, where the conventional wisdom is that Philip Haines (R-Springfield) will resign later this year to become a Superior Court Judge.  The poll showed that Perr had little name ID and that the leading Republican candidate, former Medford Mayor Christopher Myers, was beating him by a huge margin.  Sources say that Perr ally Jeff Meyer, a lobbyist who quit as party Treasurer because of his ties to a PAC that was helping Cammarano, was himself eyeing a run for State Senate against Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) in two years.

State Sen. Diane Allen, left, says she will consider a challenge to freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler, right, in 2010

Now that state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) is no longer in the running for lieutenant governor, she's a top prospect to run against freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) next year - at least among Burlington County Republicans.

"The organization would whole-heartedly support Diane Allen if she decided to run for Congress," said Burlington County GOP Chairman Bill Layton.

Allen, a moderate Republican who consistently wins reelection easily in a district with a two-to-one Democratic registration advantage, has fought bitterly over the years with former chairman Glenn Paulsen and more recently Layton, his close ally.  The party divide even sunk her fledgling bid for the House in late 2007, with the Paulsen/Layton faction instead recruiting Lockheed Martin executive Chris Myers, who became the nominee.

"Now is not the time in my life that I feel prepared to again fight a Democrat opponent as well as a rogue faction of the Burlington County Republican Party simultaneously," Allen said when she announced in late 2007 that she would not seek the open House seat>

But Layton says he's intent on letting bygones be bygones.

"In politics, sometimes you have your differences, but you put them aside and try to do the best thing for the party," he said.

Myers, who lost narrowly to Adler in 2008, may be in line for a state Senate seat if state Sen. Phil Haines (R-Springfield) is appointed to a Superior Court judgeship.  He would likely have a lot of support if he decided to run for Congress again, but he is not expected to.

Allen remains non-committal about running, but she leaves the possibility open.

"It is kind of early, and truthfully it's just nothing I've given any thought to," she said.

Allen said that her decision will depend on whether Adler does a good job addressing the district's issues.

Burlington County Republicans are saying that they expect Gov. Jon Corzine to nominate State Sen. Philip Haines (R-Springfield) to the Superior Court this month, and that Haines has told party leaders he could be out of the Senate as early as June 25.  Republican sources say that Christopher Myers, a former Medford Mayor who won 48% in a bid for Congress last year, has emerged as the leading candidate to win a July special election convention to fill Haines' seat.

Haines would become the third Senator in recent years to resign from the upper house to become a Superior Court Judge: Garry Furnari (D-Nutley) did it in 2003, clearing the way for Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) top move up to the Senate; and later that year, Joseph Charles (D-Jersey City) left the Senate after less than two years to become a Judge.  It was the Charles seat that led to a rancorous primary between then-Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham and the candidate backed by the Hudson County Democratic Organization, then-Jersey City Council President L. Harvey Smith.

Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to nominate State Sen. Philip Haines (R-Springfield) as a Superior Court Judge within the next two weeks, setting the stage for a special election in the Republican-leaning eighth district this November.  Burlington County Republicans say they expect Haines to be out of the Senate by next month, and are preparing for a special election convention in July.  Former Medford Mayor Christopher Myers, who won 48% of the vote in his 2008 race for Congress against Democrat John Adler, could emerge as a leading candidate for Haines' Senate seat.

These are interesting times in Burlington County politics, where Republicans are defending their control of the Board of Freeholders for the first time in decades.  The GOP now has a 3-2 majority, and two of their seats are up in 2009.  The two Republican incumbents are not seeking re-election.  State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) is reportedly under consideration to become the GOP candidate for Lt. Governor - something that would likely help Republicans keep control.

State Sen. Philip Haines (R-Springfield) is under active consideration for appointment as a Superior Court Judge, sources say, a move that could force a special election for his State Senate seat as early as this November. 

Haines, 58, served as a Burlington County Freeholder and County Clerk before winning an open State Senate seat in 2007.  The appointment, which would be made by Gov. Jon Corzine, is not subject to senatorial courtesy and would likely win swift approval.  Because the mandatory retirement age is 70, new Judges are typically not appointed after age 60.

Possible successors to Haines include: retiring Freeholder William Haines (who is not related to the Senator), Assemblywoman Dawn Addiego (R-Evesham), Assemblyman Scott Rudder (R-Medford), and former Medford Mayor Christopher Myers, who won 48% of the vote in his 2008 race for Congress against Democrat John Adler.  South Jersey Democrats are already mounting a serious challenge to Addiego and Rudder, who are freshman legislators. 

State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) is widely mentioned as a possible candidate for Lt. Governor if Chris Christie wins the GOP primary.

One major obstacle for Diane Allen as a potential candidate for Lieutenant Governor is the objection of Burlington County Republican leaders who have been feuding with the popular South Jersey State Senator from the last two years.  Allen, a former TV anchorwoman has proven herself as a strong vote-getter in the suburban Philadelphia region, winning five successive general elections in a Democratic-leaning district.

Allen nearly entered the race for Congress in 2008 after Jim Saxton announced his retirement, but withdrew when it became apparent that her home county organization would not support her.  Some pundits think that Allen would have kept the seat in Republican hands against Democrat John Adler, who won the seat 52%-48% against the lesser known Christopher Myers. The same pundits say that Allen’s presence on the ballot might have prevented Republicans from losing two Freeholder seats and the County Clerk’s office.

At their election night party in Mount Laurel, while Burlington County Democrats were ecstatically watching the best returns they've seen in recent memory roll in, local Democratic chairman Rick Perr followed newly minted Congressman-Elect John Adler's (D-Cherry Hill) victory speech with a joke that lent a sobering reminder to an otherwise heady atmosphere.

"Hey John, when does re-election start?" he said.

The answer: immediately. 

After losing a seat that their party held for 124 years, national Republicans have stressed to local party leaders that they should start fielding potential challengers to Adler as soon as possible.  Not that they needed to tell that to Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore and Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton, who head up the GOP in the two counties that dominate the 3rd Congressional District (Camden County has one town, Cherry Hill, in the district).