Christopher Myers

State Sen. John Adler has raised $610,000 for his campaign for Jim Saxton’s seat in Congress and has $580,000 cash on hand, according to a statement released by his campaign.  Adler is seeking to become the first Democrat to win this seat since 1882.  Medford Deputy Mayor Christopher Myers and Ocean County Freeholder John Kelly are seeking the GOP nomination; neither has released fundraising figures through the end of last year.

Medford Deputy Mayor Christopher Myers will formally announce his candidacy for the GOP nomination for Congress in the third district on Thursday in Medford.  Sources say that twelve-term Congressman Jim Saxton will endorse Myers, a Lockheed Martin Vice President.

The unexpected retirement of Republican Reps. Jim Saxton and Mike Ferguson has opened up a wide field of potential congressional candidates, many of whom have spent the last month in fundraising overdrive mode and have already gotten donors to cough up some impressive amounts of cash.

Congressional District 7

In the seventh congressional district, Republicans are lining up to challenge Democrat Linda Stender, who raised close to $2 million last year only to lose to Ferguson by one point. This time, unlike last, she has the full support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, whose Chairman, Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, came to the state in November to endorse and raise money for her and her third district counterpart John Adler.

Stender would not say how much she raised in 2007, but a source close to her said that the campaign has approximately $500,000 in the bank.

Former Tabernacle Township Committeeman Justin Murphy says he will seek the Republican nomination for Congress in the 3rd district, according to a report in the Courier-Post.  The 41-year-old businessman will oppose Medford Deputy Mayor Christopher Myers and Ocean County Freeholder John Kelly for the seat of Rep. Jim Saxton, who is retiring after 24 years in Congress.  The seat has been held by the GOP continuously since 1884.

The most gracious move of the week may have come from Ocean County Freeholder John Kelly, who without opposition became George Gilmore’s choice to succeed Jim Saxton as the third district Congressman.  At the Republican Convention that Kelly won by acclamation (as is usually the case once the Screening Committee makes the decision), he invited his likely primary opponent, Medford Deputy Mayor Christopher Myers, to join him at the podium and address the Ocean County GOP delegates.  Classy move.

Republicans have held Jim Saxton’s House seat continuously since 1884, when George Hires, a GOP State Senator from Salem County, ousted one-term Democratic Congressman Thomas Ferrell by 1,742 votes.  Now, after four weeks of considerable drama and many surprises, the GOP candidate to hold this open seat against Democrat John Adler, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, may be decided in a June Republican primary between Medford Deputy Mayor Christopher Myers, a Lockheed-Martin executive, and Ocean County Freeholder John Kelly. 

Former GOP State Chairman David Norcross says he won't seek Jim Saxton's seat

The field of potential Burlington County candidate to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton cleared up today, with Republican National Committeeman David Norcross and Freeholder Aubrey Fenton both removing their names from consideration and throwing their support behind the county’s presumptive favorite candidate, Lockheed Martin Vice President Chris Myers.

Myers, 42, the Deputy Mayor of Medford, is the chosen candidate of Burlington County GOP power broker Glenn Paulsen, and has the tacit approval of Saxton. He now looks almost certain to become that county’s chosen candidate.

Norcross, 64, was considered a top tier potential challenger. A prolific fundraiser, Norcross has a long political resume as a former U.S. Senate candidate and GOP state chairman. He currently serves as co-chair of Mitt Romney’s New Jersey campaign.

Ocean County Republicans will hold a screening committee meeting on Saturday morning to meet the candidates for Jim Saxton’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.  In Ocean County, where GOP Chairman George Gilmore rules firmly, an endorsement from the screening committee is almost tantamount to a victory at the open county GOP convention – which will be held on Monday night.

The likely Burlington County candidate, Medford Deputy Mayor and Lockheed Martin Vice President Christopher Myers, plans to screen in Ocean – sources say that former GOP State Chairman David Norcross will not appear before the screening committee, a strong indication that he has decided not to run.  Insiders

Retiring Rep. Jim Saxton won’t make a formal endorsement for the Republican nomination for his successor, but he spent yesterday in Washington with Medford Deputy Mayor Christopher Meyers, a Lockheed Martin executive and the presumptive favorite to be the Burlington County candidate in the race to succeed him.

Saxton met with Myers and took him to offices of the Republican National Congressional Committee yesterday to introduce him around, said Jeff Sagnip, who served as Saxton’s campaign manager in 2006. Saxton, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Myers, a defense contractor who works for the largest employer in South Jersey, have been close friends for years.