David Norcross

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

There seems to be two certainties in the race for Jim Saxton’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives:  that candidates from Burlington and Ocean counties will face off in a Republican primary, and that the GOP nominee will face a tough general election against State Senator John Adler, the likely Democratic nominee.

The GOP front runner is Diane Allen, a four-term GOP State Senator from Burlington and former TV news anchorwoman for the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia.  But Allen must first establish some form of détente with Burlington GOP leader Glenn Paulsen, with whom she is engaged in a fairly vicious intra-party battle, before she can expect to win a big plurality in her home county. 

The field of potential Republican candidates to replace Jim Saxton next year is still large, but a few of the names first floated have removed themselves from consideration.

Will former GOP State Chairman David Norcross run for Congress?U.S. Rep. James Saxton's retirement has opened the floodgates, with over a dozen names pouring out as potential successors to the dozen-term Congressman. And many of those names hail from Ocean County, a solidly Republican locale that has never had a Congressman who called it home.

Ocean County politicians see this as a great opportunity to a long-deserved seat. But while they appear to have more aspirants than Burlington County, which makes up a roughly equal chunk of the district, so far no potential candidate has appeared from Ocean with the name recognition or draw of Diane Allen, who bobs to the surface of congressional hopefuls.

Short of drafting a celebrity to run, the best hope for any Ocean County Republican to win the nomination is an internal battle in Burlington County - a real possibility. Allen's current nemesis, GOP boss Glenn Paulsen, could make things more complicated for her as long as their two party factions are warring. Or former GOP State Chairman David Norcross, a veteran political player who has reportedly expressed interest in running for the seat, could wage a strong challenge as well.

Republican Jim Saxton won re-election to a 12th term with 58% of the vote in 2006 in a district that George W. Bush carried with 51% in 2004. The open seat could be competitive in 2008. The GOP has a huge field of potential candidates; the Democrats will run State Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Adler, who had said in September that he would challenge Saxton.

Republican National Committeeman David Norcross, a former GOP State Chairman and U.S. Senate candidate is giving serious consideration to a bid for Congress in the third district, where James Saxton is retiring after twelve terms in office. Norcross was a top candidate for the seat 23 years ago when Congressman Edwin Forsythe died in office, but instead strongly supported Saxton, a longtime friend and political ally.