Barbara Buono, who became the first woman to serve as Senate Majority Leader today, won her first campaign for the Legislature after the Republican candidate turned out to be deeply flawed.

The Middlesex County-based 18th district went Republican in 1991 and 1993, when Jack Sinagra won a Senate seat and Jeff Warsh and Harriet Derman were elected to the State Assembly.  Derman resigned in February 1994 when the newly-elected GOP Governor, Christine Todd Whitman, named her Commissioner of Community Affairs.  Joanna Gregory-Scocchi won a special election convention later that month to replace Derman in the Assembly.

To run against Gregory-Scocchi in a November 1994 special election, Democrats picked Buono, then a 41-year-old Metuchen Councilwoman.  The political environment in the fall of 1994 was decisively Republican, and Gregory-Scocchi was favored to hold the seat.

The Gregory-Scocchi campaign fell apart that fall after amidst a controversy involving illegal immigration and a temporary employment company owned by the new Assemblywoman.  A van owned by Gregory-Scocchi's husband and used by her business to transport temp workers was stopped by local law enforcement, who found undocumented workers in the vehicle.  A few weeks before the election, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization (INS ) agents raided Gregory-Schocchi's place of business.

Barbara Buono, on the cusp of history as the first Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor, won her first campaign for the Legislature after the Republican candidate turned out to be deeply flawed.

The Middlesex County-based 18th district went Republican in 1991 and 1993, when Jack Sinagra won a Senate seat and Jeff Warsh and Harriet Derman were elected to the State Assembly.  Derman resigned in February 1994 when the newly-elected GOP Governor, Christine Todd Whitman, named her Commissioner of Community Affairs.  Joanna Gregory-Scocchi won a special election convention later that month to replace Derman in the Assembly.

To run against Gregory-Scocchi in a November 1994 special election, Democrats picked Buono, then a 41-year-old Metuchen Councilwoman.  The political environment in the fall of 1994 was decisively Republican, and Gregory-Scocchi was favored to hold the seat.

The Gregory-Scocchi campaign fell apart that fall after amidst a controversy involving illegal immigration and a temporary employment company owned by the new Assemblywoman.  A van owned by Gregory-Scocchi's husband and used by her business to transport temp workers was stopped by local law enforcement, who found undocumented workers in the vehicle.  A few weeks before the election, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization (INS ) agents raided Gregory-Schocchi's place of business.

Democratic sources say that Gov. Jon Corzine has not made a final decision on a running mate, but that State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) has emerged as the front runner in an internal contest where there is only one voter - and he is undecided.

The conventional wisdom right now is that Corzine will choose between Buono and State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck).   Some Democrats were counting Buono out as recently as last Thursday, when Reality TV star Randal Pinkett looked to be the governor's first choice, and as recently as yesterday, when there were signals that Weinberg was the favorite. Pinkett held a news conference today to say that he would consider the LG nod if Corzine were to offer it.  Democrats with knowledge of the LG selection process say that Corzine's choice will not be Pinkett.

Our advice to readers: this is all entirely speculative; wait for a formal announcement to know for sure.  That announcement must come before Monday.