Joseph Kyrillos

Millionaire businesswoman Anne Evans Estabrook is dropping out of the race for U.S. SenateCiting health reasons, Anne Evans Estabrook is dropping her bid for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. That leaves a two-way contest to challenge four-term Democrat Frank Lautenberg between State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris) and Murray Sabrin, a Ramapo College Professor and the leader of Ron Paul's New Jersey campaign.

Estabrook, 61, was making her first bid for public office after a career as a real estate developer, philanthropist, and Chairman of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. She had won key endorsements by the Burlington, Camden and Monmouth Republican organizations, and based on her endorsements and money, had been viewed as the front runner in the race to challenge Lautenberg. Pennacchio has won county endorsement contests in Hunterdon and Union counties.

Republicans had embraced Estabrook as their standard bearer after she agreed to self-finance her Senate bid. She loaned her campaign nearly $1.7 million,and raised another $150,000. Lautenberg has about $4.3 million cash on hand; Pennacchio and Sabrin have not yet reported their fundraising efforts.

Sources close to Joseph Kyrillos say the six-term State Senator and former GOP State Chairman is seriously considering a late entrance into the race for the Republican U.S. Senate
nomination. Kyrillos has some free time on his hands now that Mitt Romney has dropped out of the presidential race, and some of his friends suggest that Kyrillos gets that Republicans aren’t terribly excited about the other three candidates – businesswoman Anne Evans Estabrook, State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, and Ramapo College Professor Murray Sabrin.

New Jersey Republicans have not won a U.S. Senate seat since 1972, but some party insiders still hold out hope that there could be an opportunity against Frank Lautenberg, who at age 84 is seeking his fifth six-year term. Lautenberg, as Tom Moran once explained, is just one broken hip away from his age being a real factor in the race.

There is speculation today that State Sen. Joe Kyrillos might enter the race for U.S. Senate: Getty Images Photo
Monmouth County GOP Chairman Adam Puharic wants State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos to enter the race for United States Senate.

"If Joe Kyrillos got in the race, it would be a game-changing event for New Jersey politics," said Puharic, who served on Anne Evans Estabrook’s exploratory committee but has not endorsed a candidate in the race.

Huckabee spokesman Peter KaneFormer Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's Super Tuesday performance sparked his supporters here in New Jersey, including State Campaign Director Peter Kane, who also couldn't resist taking a shot at the GOP field's favorite target, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney.

"They said we had a second tier candidate," Kane said in a statement. "They said the Iowa win was a fluke. They said we were just in it to be a spoiler. They said we should just get out of the race now. They said we had limited appeal to a narrow slice of the electorate."

Huckabee picked up victories in his homestate of Arkansas, in Georgia, Alabama and West Virginia, and was competing in at least two more states Wednesday morning.

"With wins in several states, throughout this country and the delegate count
rising steadily maybe this has finally become a two person race," said Kane. "And maybe, it is time for Gov. Romney to bow out gracefully and leave the battle to the one true, sincere conservative in this race: Mike Huckabee."

District 7 U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson has endorsed former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney for president, according to Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, state chairman for the Romney campaign.

Mitt Romney's State Campaign Director Sen. Joseph Kyrillos spoke at the Lincroft Inn at a candidates' forum Tuesday night, shortly before his presidential candidate lost to Sen. John McCain in the key primary state of Florida, 36%-31%.

Absorbing some former backers of Fred Thompson and at least one defector from the camp of Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, state chairman of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, today assembled an official, updated team of Romney backers at a breakfast in Parsippany.

The Monmouth University/Gannet New Jersey poll released this morning seems to have turned the conventional wisdom of New Jersey presidential politics on its head, especially on the Republican side, where John McCain has pulled even with Rudy Giuliani. But none of the state’s most prominent presidential candidate backers expressed much surprise today.

The most shocking number in the poll put John McCain leading 29-25% -- within the 4.5% margin of error. Just one month ago, according to a Quinnipiac poll, Giuliani had a 22 point lead over McCain, while three months ago that lead was 36 points. And in a Bergen Record poll published Sunday, Giuliani led McCain by 16 points.