Christopher Myers

As veteran state legislator Diane Allen’s congressional star descended over the 3rd district, an opposing faction in her party inch by inch unveiled what they believe is the tantalizing candidacy of newcomer Christopher Myers, a decorated Gulf War veteran and vice president at Lockheed Martin.

"A real man's man," said an early supporter.

The popular Allen just endured a six-month long re-election campaign in which she fairly beat up the opposition by a 12% margin, but also expended energy and capital in a losing effort to pull in a pair of Assembly running mates.

It happens every cycle: a candidate gets tripped up by revelations of a campaign contribution to the other party.  Sometimes it hurts – that’s one of the reasons Lewis Eisenberg dropped his bid for U.S. Senate in 2000 – and sometimes it doesn’t matter at all – like Jon Corzine’s donations to some Republicans when he was the Goldman Sachs Chairman.  And Anne Evans Estabrook’s contributions to Democrats like Robert Menendez and Linda Stender does not appear to bother Republican leaders considering her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

Christopher Myers, a Medford resident who is the Vice President of Lockheed Martin, is considering a bid for the Republican nomination for Congress in the third district and could win the endorsement of retiring Rep. Jim Saxton, according to GOP sources. Myers runs Lockheed Martin's sea-based missile-defense programs.

Sources say that Saxton is giving strong consideration to endorsing Myers for the GOP nod, even as feuding Burlington County Republicans and a seemingly united Ocean County posture to pick a candidate for the open seat.  State Sen. Diane Allen has already begun seeking support, and Ocean County Republicans could pick their candidate as early as next month.