Douglas Cabana

Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township) at home

MORRIS TOWNSHIP -- Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township) is not the type of candidate to scurry around his district trying to squeeze out possible last minute votes.  Instead, he is spending the day painting his living room and taking his kids to a firing range. 

"Today there's really nothing much I can do.  In Morris County all the votes that I think can be gotten out already have been gotten out," said Carroll, an attorney, from the home he also uses as his law office. 

Motivating Republican voters in Morris County - the home of their gubernatorial candidate, Chris Christie - is not hard this year.  And Carroll, who sits in a relatively safe Republican district, is not expected to be defeated by Democrats Rebekah Conroy and Wendy Wright. 

That is not to say that Carroll has never faced competition.  After his district-mate, Assemblyman Rick Merkt (R-Mendham), decided not to seek reelection, Carroll found himself caught up in a three-way primary with Anthony Bucco, Jr. and Freeholder Doug Cabana.

An early prediction for the best primary of 2011: the Republican contest for State Senator in District 25, assuming that State Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Boonton) retires.  Possible candidate include: his son, Anthony Bucco, Jr., who is heavily favored to win a State Assembly seat in November after defeating his brother-in-law, Morris County Freeholder Douglas Cabana on Tuesday; Morris County Freeholder John Murphy, who won a big plurality in Morris County when he ran for Governor four years ago, and who ran several thousand votes ahead of his running mates in the 2006 and 2009 Freeholder primaries; and Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Twp.), who has consistently demonstrated considerable vote getting prowess without spending large sums on his campaigns.

In the Morris County-based 25th district, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township), Freeholder Douglas Cabana, and Anthony Bucco, Jr., the son of a popular State Senator, are seeking the GOP nod for two Assembly seats.  Assemblyman Rick Merkt (R-Mendham) is giving up his seat to seek the Republican nomination for Governor.

Carroll, one of the most conservative members of the Legislature, was first elected in 1995.  Carroll and then-Assemblyman (now State Senator) Anthony Bucco defeated Merkt and then-Morris County Freeholder Christopher Christie in the GOP primary.  Carroll has never been much of a fundraiser and doesn't always enjoy establishment political support, but his base has carried him through in Republican primaries.  Carroll won by 1,923 votes when Cabana challenged him in the 2003 primary.

Very little money is is being spent in Republican legislative primaries this year, according to reports filed on May 5 with the Election Law Enforcement Commission.

In terms of cash, the most competitive primary is in District 40, where incumbent Assemblymen Scott Rumana (R-Wayne) and Dave Russo (R-Ridgewood) face businessmen Joseph Caruso and Anthony Rottino.

Including funds left over from their previous campaign balances, Rumana has raised a total of $189,200 and has $78,888 on hand, while Russo has raised $181,375 and has $39,925 on hand.  Their joint account raised a total of $99,428 and has $13,254 in cash.

That puts the incumbents at a significant but not overwhelming fundraising advantage over Caruso and Rottino, who did not have previous campaign balances to draw from but wound up out-raising Rumana and Russo during the last fundraising cycle.  Caruso raised $64,550 and has $37,175 on hand, while Rottino raised $42,825 and has $32,715 on hand.  The joint account for the challengers raised $28,843 and has $5,341 on hand.

In the three man 25th District contest, the two non-incumbents are by far the bigger fundraisers.  Tony Bucco, Jr., whose father occupies that district's state Senate seat, raised a total of $58,550 and has the most cash with $27,086.  Morris County Freeholder Cabana raised $55,344 in total, but does not have the most cash on hand of any candidate, with $17,300 left over.  The lone incumbent in the race, Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township), has the least money. He raised $20,119 - most of which came from left over funds -- and has $5,214 in cash.

The lone incumbent in the race, Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township), has the least money. He raised $20,119 - most of which came from left over funds -- and has $5,214 in cash.

In his post as Morris County Republican Chairman, John Sette is officially neutral in the race for State Assembly in District 25.  But as an individual, he is backing Morris County Freeholder Douglas Cabana and attorney Anthony Bucco over the seven-term incumbent, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township).  Rick Merkt (R-Mendham) is giving up the seat he has held since 1997 to seek the Republican nomination for Governor.

United States Senate candidate Joe Pennacchio announced today that most of the freeholder board in his home county supports his candidacy.

Pennacchio, a state Senator and former Morris County freeholder, has the support of six out of the seven members of the county’s all-Republican freeholder board: Margaret Nordstrom, Gene Feyl, William Chegwidden, John Murphy, James Murray and Jack Schrier.