George Gilmore

Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore met with ex-Eagles tackle Jon Runyan yesterday, who told him that he is "strongly leaning" toward running.

But Gilmore, who said he had a "nice conversation" with Runyan, is not sold on him as the candidate to take on freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill). 

"This is nowhere near being over at this point," said Gilmore.  "As a professional football player there's some name recognition. On the other hand, we don't know much about his background.  He's never held elected office, never run for office.  We don't know how he would handle a situation and a campaign," said Gilmore. 

Gilmore is upfront about who his favorite potential candidate is: state Sen. Chris Connors (R-Lacey Twp), who already represents roughly half the congressional district in the legislature.  Connors could not be reached for comment, but he told the Asbury Park Press yesterday that he is "not likely" to run. 

If Runyan decides to run, he will likely to have the full support of the Republicans from Burlington County, which makes up a roughly equal portion of the congressional district as Ocean County.  But even if Connors is out of the picture, Gilmore thinks a number of other candidates deserve consideration, including Toms River Councilman Maurice Hill and former Virginia "Ginny" Haines, a former assemblywoman and state lottery commissioner.   

"I don't want those comments to be taken as being opposed to Runyan, because I'm not," said Gilmore.  "He's a candidate that brings certain attributes and we have other candidates that bring other attributes." 

Gilmore does not believe that the process is already spiraling towards a primary like in 2008, when the eventual nominee, Christopher Myers, had to spend half a million dollars that Republicans think could have been better spent against Adler in the general election.

But what if the two county parties are unable to agree on a candidate?

Ex-Eagles tackle John Runyan is meeting with Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore at Gilmore's law office this morning to talk about a prospective run for office.

Runyan, a 35-year-old Mount Laurel resident who played with the Eagles from 2000 until 2008, is, in his own words, “seriously considering” challenging freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) next November.  

Getting the go-ahead from Gilmore is crucial, since he presides over the dominant party in the county that produced the most Republican votes in the state in the gubernatorial race two weeks ago.  Gilmore and his fellow Republican county chairs from Burlington and Camden Counties – which make up Adler’s congressional district – have expressed a desire to avoid a costly primary like the one last year between then-Medford Mayor Chris Myers, Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly and former Tabernacle Committeeman Justin Murphy.

Reached by phone this morning, Gilmore said he would hold off on comment until after he has met with Runyan.

Former NFL star Jon Runyan has already fumbled: he put out a statement expressing his interest in running for Congress without first talking to the most powerful Republican in his district, Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore.  Gilmore, a superstar since he delivered a 70,000-vote margin for Gov.-elect Christopher Christie last week, has reacted poorly to demonstrations of disrespect like this in the past.  In 2005, Gilmore gave GOP gubernatorial candidate Douglas Forrester a list of calls he needed to make to secure support in Ocean County.  To Gilmore's annoyance, Forrester never made most of the calls; Gilmore instead gave the Ocean County GOP line to Robert Schroeder, who diligently courted local Republicans.  Forrester won the primary, but never got Gilmore fully engaged; he won Ocean County by about a third of what Christie did.

Left to right: U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill), former Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jon Runyan, and State Sen. Christopher Connors (R-Lacey).

Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore is not ready to roll over and anoint former Eagles tackle Jon Runyon as the Republican nominee for Congress in the 3rd District.

First, he at least needs to hear from Runyan, who lives in Burlington County.

"I'll wait for Mr. Runyan to make contact and we'll take it from there, but obviously there are a lot of viable candidates out there," said Gilmore.  "Some are from Ocean County, some from Burlington, and we'll have to wait and see how they all withstand the scrutiny that will be put on their strengths and weaknesses." 

Republicans from Burlington County, which makes up roughly the same portion of the 3rd District as Ocean County, recruited Runyan and wasted no time pushing out a statement quoting him as being "very interested" in running.  

But Gilmore - who gets Republican street cred for Christopher Christie's 70,000 margin of victory in Ocean County -- has his own stable of potential candidates, foremost among them state Sen. Christopher Connors (R-Lacey Twp.). 

Ocean County, which is represented by two congressional districts, has never put a native son in the House. 

Last year, Gilmore's party ran Freeholder Jack Kelly in a nasty and costly campaign against the eventual Republican nominee, Lockheed Martin executive and then-Medford Mayor Chris Myers (former Tabernacle Township Committeeman Justin Murphy also ran, getting nearly as many votes in the primary as Kelly did, and plans to run again this year).  Republicans feel they would have beaten U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) - who last year became the first Democrat to represent the district since the late 19th century - had they avoided the primary. 

Gilmore also noted that Runyan - a free agent who is not active in the NFL right now but has not retired - has expressed interest in past interviews about returning to play football.

"These are the questions we want to ask, but I have yet to have the opportunity to discuss this with Mr. Runyan," he said.

South Jersey Republicans seem genuinely excited that Jon Runyan, the 6'7, 330 lb. former Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle, is considering a bid for Congress against freshman Democrat John Adler next year.  "Our great country is headed in the wrong direction, and it's clearer every day that career politicians are incapable of solving the problems we face," Runyan said in a statement released today.  

Runyan greatest obstacle to winning the Republican nomination in District 3 could be Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore, who became the most powerful party leader in the state last week when Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie won Ocean County by 70,000 votes.  Gilmore has been anxious to see an Ocean County candidate in the race; GOP sources say he might want State Sen. Christopher Connors (R-Lacey) to run.

Adler won the seat in 2008 after twelve-term Republican Jim Saxton (R-Mount Holly) retired.  He beat Medford Mayor Christopher Myers 52%-48% to become the first Democrat to win the seat since 1884.

When another famous ex-football player, Jack Kemp, first ran for Congress in 1969, he told a reporter: "Pro football gave me a good sense of perspective to enter politics: I'd already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded and hung in effigy."  If Runyan wins, he would join former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler, a North Carolina Democrat, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Republicans across the state are in awe of George Gilmore, the Ocean County GOP leader who delivered a 70,000 plurality for Gov.-elect Christopher Christie on Tuesday.  That's bad news for U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill), who is preparing to seek re-election next year to a second term in Congress.  Republicans held the third district seat from 1884 until 2008, but have struggled to find a candidate and are way behind in fundraising - Adler has $1 million in his campaign account and has raised more money than any other freshman.  But now Christie and Gilmore are positioned to raise some serious money, and there's a fairly good chance the GOP will just left Gilmore pick a candidate.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie in Toms River this afternoon.

TOMS RIVER - Energizing a town hall chamber filled with supporters, Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie launched his final week, 21-county tour this afternoon in the heart of Republican Ocean County.   

"I believe hope is real," said Christie. "You have to go out now and convince not just fellow Republicans, but Democrats and independents: in your church parking lots, soccer and football fields, school yards. We can say hope is real with a sense of conviction. We must have the courage to believe New Jersey can be a better place."

This was where Christie began his campaign last February, and with six days remaining in his bid to unseat Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, he again expressed his desire that "Toms River and Ocean County will provide (running mate) Kim Guadagno and me the margin of victory we need to win this election."

A Quinnipiac University poll released this morning shows the Republican trending in the wrong direction and five points behind Corzine, but two other polls this week, including one released by Rasmussen, showed Christie four points in front of the governor.

Jackon Council President Mike Kafton

They're running again, but not together.

In fact, if ever two men were running straight at each other in a mayoral contest, it's Jackson Mayor Mike Reina and Council President Mike Kafton.

The unabashed political animal Kafton, and the outwardly grudgingly political Reina formed an uneasy alliance last year when they took on their mutual political enemy Mark Seda, then the fast sagging mayor of Jackson Township.

They blended forces - Kafton as the charismatic Democrat and penitential former mayor looking to regain what he lost, and Reina as the straight-talking local first responder newcomer and one of the founders of the Jackson Tea Party, a renegade Republican outfit opposed to Ocean County GOP Chair George Gilmore's establishment. 

There is some speculation that the leading candidate to replace Daniel Van Pelt (R-Ocean) in the ninth district State Assembly seat is DiAnne Gove, a Long Beach Commissioner and former Mayor.  Van Pelt resigned on Friday, a little more than a week after he was arrested on federal corruption charges.  There is really only one voter in this race: Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore. Gilmore will need to call a special election convention sometime between August 7 and September 4.  The timing is not critical; the new legislator is not likely to get sworn in before the Assembly goes back into session after the November election.

Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt (R-Ocean Twp), the lone Republican arrested in last week’s corruption bust, resigned today at a press conference in Toms River.

The Press of Atlantic City was there.

“While I have an unblemished record of over 20 years of public service, I fully understand the outrage that accompanied these accusations and I recognize the public has its right to its reaction," the paper quotes Van Pelt saying.  He was accompanied by his attorney and took no questions from the press.  

Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore told PolitickerNJ.com last week that his organization would move quickly to replace Van Pelt both in office and on the ballot when he resigned.

Van Pelt is charged with taking a $10,000 bribe from an FBI informant.

“It was the correct move," said Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany). "There was no way he could properly represent the  people of the 9th District with these criminal allegations hovering over him."