With news that freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) has raised more money than any other incumbent in a potentially competitive 2010 race during the first quarter of 2009, it is worth noting that Republicans still don't have a candidate to challenge him in a district that they held from 1884 until 2008.  Adler beat Medford Mayor Christopher Myers 52%-48% for the seat of Republican James Saxton, who retired after twelve terms in Congress.

Adler raised $464,125 last quarter and has $426,587 cash on hand. Republicans think they can beat Adler next year, but the National Republican Congressional Committee sent signals earlier this year that they want the candidate in place soon so that he or she can begin fundraising.  That's what Adler did in 2006, before Saxton had announced his intention to retire.  If the third district Republican candidate does not meet certain early fundraising goals, sources say that the NRCC might not become fully engaged in the race, according to one House Republican staffer familiar with NRCC operations.

So far, one candidate has said he expects to run: former Tabernacle Committeeman Justin Murphy, who surprised political observers last year when he won 25.2% of the vote in the Republican primary for Congress.  Murphy finished third, just 37 votes behind Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly, who had the powerful organization line in Ocean.

Mount Laurel Councilwoman Tracy Riley resigned from the Burlington County Democratic Committee today because her law practice put her in a politically sensitive position.

"After long conversations with the leaders of the Burlington County Democratic Party, it has become apparent we have irreconcilable differences regarding my private work," said Riley in a statement released this morning.  "I do not want my private legal work to become a distraction in this party's pursuit of government reform. Simultaneously, I am dedicated to honoring the oath I have taken as a lawyer and will continue to provide a zealous defense as the Constitution requires. Therefore, I am resigning my position within the Burlington County Democratic Committee."

Riley's statement did not cite any specific conflicts, but two Democratic sources said the problem stemmed from her work on a high profile case involving illegal immigrants. 

Riley is the court-appointed defense lawyer for Lucio Garcia-Sanchez, a 19-year-old immigrant from Mexico who is in the United States illegally.  Garcia-Sanchez was a passenger in a car driven by his brother, Jose Luis Galindo-Sanchez - also an undocumented immigrant -- that killed popular 27-year-old middle school teacher Amy Voorhees.  According to newspaper reports, Galindo-Sanchez caused the accident by running a red light.

The death of Assemblyman Eric Munoz (R-Summit) nearly two weeks ago creates an opening in the Assembly Republican leadership.  Munoz had served as one of two Deputy Conference Leaders.  It is possible that Assemblyman Scott Rumana (R-Wayne) could move up from Assistant Minority Leader, and it is not likely that retiring Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale), who is also an Assistant Minority Leader, would get a leadership promotion for his last eight months in the Legislature.

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) is a big Rumana fan -- he threatened to cut off funding for Assembly races in Bergen County this year if the organization didn't back Rumana for a second term -- and could give the freshman lawmaker a small boost in his contested primary by offering him what legislators view as a more important leadership position.

DEMOCRATS BLAST GOP ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES AS NOTHING MORE THAN LIMBAUGH DITTOHEADS

Burlington County Democrats are expected to support Evesham Councilwoman Debbie Sarcone and former Navy Seal Bill Brown for the State Assembly in the eighth district.  They would face two freshman Republicans, Dawn Addiego and Scott Rudder.

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).

New Jersey Republicans will face some pressure from the national GOP over the next few months to settle on their candidate to challenge freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) in 2010.  Adler won the seat of retiring twelve-term Republican Jim Saxton last year with 52% -- the first Democrat to win the seat since Thomas Ferrell ousted two-term Republican George Robeson with 50.1% in 1882.

Republicans think they can beat Adler next year, but the National Republican Congressional Committee is sending signals that they want the candidate in place soon so that he or she can begin fundraising.  That's what Adler did in 2006, before Saxton had announced his intention to retire.  If the third district Republican candidate does not meet certain early fundraising goals, sources say that the NRCC might not become fully engaged in the race, according to one House Republican staffer familiar with NRCC operations.

All eighty seats in the New Jersey General Assembly are up next year, with Democrats in strong shape to keep their majority under a legislative map that creates relatively few competitive races.

Republicans feel that they have a good chance to go on the offensive this year, even if taking control of the Assembly, where Democrats have a 48-32 majority, is an unlikely prospect. Assembly Republican Executive Director Rick Wright thinks the gubernatorial candidacy of U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, one of four Republicans actively exploring a statewide bid, would boost his party’s chances to pick up Assembly seats.

“It all depends on who our gubernatorial candidate is. I know there’s a lot of excitement out there about Chris Christie. If and when he makes his decision, that will help us in our recruiting. We have people out there sitting and saying I want to see what Chris Christie does,” Wright said. “A lot of county chairmen think we have a much better chance of success in gubernatorial and legislative races if Chris Christie is at the top of the ticket.”

If Republicans can't beat John Adler in 2010, chances are they never will.  If Adler wins a second term, watch for mapmakers to take take some heavily Republican Ocean County towns out of his district when new congressional districts are drawn for the 2012 elections.  Adler scored a 52%-48% victory last week over Republican Christopher Myers for the seat of retiring twelve term U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton -- a seat Democrats hadn't won since 1882.

Republican insiders say that Myers isn't likely to get a second shot at the seat, and that the favorite candidate could be former major league baseball pitcher Al Leiter.  Leiter, a Toms River native who has said he wants to run for office someday, has turned down several offers to seek U.S. Senate and House seats in recent years.  Other possible Adler opponents include: State Sen. Diane Allen (who must first heal wounds in a very fractured Burlington County Republican organization); State Sen. Phil Haines; Assemblywoman Dawn Addiego; Assemblyman Brian Rumpf; and Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly, who lost the '08 GOP primary to Myers.

Sources say the leading candidate for Dawn Addiego’s seat on the Burlington County Board of Freeholders is Stacy Jordan, a former Moorestown Council candidate and the daughter of former Freeholder Vincent Farias. Farias did not seek re-election to the Freeholder Board in 2007 and lost a bid for Surrogate in 2006.