John Adler

State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) is widely mentioned as a possible candidate for Lt. Governor if Chris Christie wins the GOP primary.

One major obstacle for Diane Allen as a potential candidate for Lieutenant Governor is the objection of Burlington County Republican leaders who have been feuding with the popular South Jersey State Senator from the last two years.  Allen, a former TV anchorwoman has proven herself as a strong vote-getter in the suburban Philadelphia region, winning five successive general elections in a Democratic-leaning district.

Allen nearly entered the race for Congress in 2008 after Jim Saxton announced his retirement, but withdrew when it became apparent that her home county organization would not support her.  Some pundits think that Allen would have kept the seat in Republican hands against Democrat John Adler, who won the seat 52%-48% against the lesser known Christopher Myers. The same pundits say that Allen’s presence on the ballot might have prevented Republicans from losing two Freeholder seats and the County Clerk’s office.

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).

In her bid to win reappointment as President of the Board of Public Utilities, Jeanne Fox received a major endorsement today when Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney said he would support her nomination.  Sweeney's support is a clear signal that South Jersey Democrats will vote for Fox, which likely gives her enough votes to win Senate confirmation despite some opposition from the Republican caucus.

The Senate Judiciary is expected to consider Fox's nomination on Monday.

Left to right: Congressmen George Robeson, Henry Loudenslager, Charles Wolverton, William Cahill and John Adler.

Only two Democrats have won what is now the third congressional district since Chester Arthur was President: Thomas Ferrell and John Adler.  PolitickerNJ.com looks at the chain of custody, not district numbers, to determine the lineage of a particular seat in Congress.

In 1882, with just 50.1% of the vote, Ferrell, a former State Senator, Assemblyman and Glassboro Committeeman, ousted Republican George Robeson, a two-term Congressman with an impressive resume. A Civil War General, Robeson spent two years as state Attorney General and nearly eight years as U.S. Secretary of the Navy in the cabinet of President Ulysses Grant.

Ferrell was beaten for re-election in 1884 by Republican George Hires, a former Salem County Sheriff and State Senator.  Hires won 50%-45%, starting a 124-year streak of Republican victories in this congressional district.

Some pundits view State Sen. Diane Allen, with U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance, as the strongest potential Republican challenger to freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler in 2010.

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.

David Fleisher will return to the Cherry Hill Township Council.  He was appointed last night to fill the unexpired term of Shelley Adler, who resigned following the election of her husband, John Adler, to Congress.  Fleisher previously served as a Councilman from 1997 to 2006.

Gov. Jon Corzine, above, has reappointed three members of the New Jersey State Investment Council.

Gov. Jon Corzine has again nominated Jeanne Fox as President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.  Fox had been reappointed last year, but the nomination stalled after then-Senate Judiciary Chairman John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) declined to post it for a committee vote.  Sources say that the new Judiciary Chairman, Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) will back Fox for another term at the BPU.

Jose Claxton, Montgomery Cerf, and Erika Irish Brown have been reappointed by Corzine to the New Jersey State Investment Council, which has lost an estimated $25 billion of state pension funds since July.

Corzine has also resubmitted the nomination of Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney to the Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization and Consolidation Commission.  State Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Demarest) has been blocking McNerney's appointment.

U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) became the first Democrat to hold this seat since 1884.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is paying for automated telephone calls into New Jersey's third district criticizing freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) for supporting President Obama's economic stimulus package. 

The script: "In 2008 John Adler promised us he would oppose wasteful spending, but just last week Congressman John Adler has done exactly the opposite.  John Adler voted for nearly a trillion dollars in wasteful spending. That's right - one trillion dollars of your money on more than 30 entirely new government programs."

Left to right: Charles Sandman, Ralph DeRose, Anthony Imperiale, Raymond Bateman and Frank "Pat" Dodd.

If you are a New Jersey State Senator, you are more likely to die in office than to win higher elective office. Under the current State Constitution, 49 sitting State Senators have asked voters to promote them to a new office, but only twelve have won.

Nearly half of the State Senators seeking higher office have run for Governor and all 21 have lost: Malcolm Forbes (1957), Wayne Dumont (1965), Raymond Bateman (1977) and James E. McGreevey (1997) won major party nominations but list the general election -- each time to an incumbent; William Schluter ran as an Independent in 2001; and Walter Jones (1961), Charles Sandman (1965), William Kelly (1969), Frank McDermott (1969), William Ozzard (1969), Harry Sears (1969), Ralph DeRose (1973), Raymond Garramone (1977), Frank Dodd (1981), William Hamilton (1981), Joseph Merlino (1981), James Wallwork (1981), Bill Gormley (1989) and Gerald Cardinale (1989).

The New Jersey House delegation voted along party lines in support of President Barack Obama’s $89 billion economic stimulus package.  New Jersey’s eight Democratic Congressmen voted yes, while the five Republicans voted no.