Kate Whitman

Pete Biondi won't run for CongressSaying that he doesn't want to spend too much time away from his family, Assemblyman Peter Biondi today opted not to run for Congress to succeed Rep. Mike Ferguson in the seventh district.

Biondi would have likely been the local Republican Party’s candidate of choice in Somerset -- one of four counties that make up the congressional district.

“This was a tough decision. What’s best for me and my family is that I be here,” said Biondi, who is the Republican conference leader in the Assembly. “I think I can better serve my constituents in my leadership position in Trenton.”

In an interview with PolitickerNJ.com in Woodbridge on Saturday, Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks promised to prove himself in the 7th district congressional primary as the conservative choice.

The pro-life mayor and executive member of the League of Municipalities, says he has over $100,000 in the bank so far toward his congressional campaign, and looks forward to mulitple GOP forums in the coming weeks to distinguish himself from the rest of a large field of candidates.

For Immediate Release
Contact:
1/ 15/ 08
Campaign Aide Catherine Dewey
 

Peapack, NJ… Kate Whitman and her campaign for Congress gained more
momentum and more supporters at the Middlesex County Republican
Presidential Convention this past Saturday.

Kate spoke before a crowd of about 250 people, sharing her plan for lower taxes, cutting government waste, ending illegal immigration and getting a better return on the tax dollars New Jersey’s hard working taxpayers send to Washington.

Sen. Leonard LanceSen. Leonard Lance from Hunterdon County, the former state Senate Minority Leader, is expected to officially enter the 7th District Congressional race this week.

The GOP field in the 7th district so far includes Union County candidates Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks and former Summit Councilwoman Kelly Hatfield; and Kate Whitman, daughter of former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, from Somerset County.

It is expected that Assemblyman Pete Biondi will not seek his party’s nomination, which could open up a run by Warren Mayor Victor Sordillo, who has sworn off running if Biondi gets in the race.

Whoever wins Republican support will face likely Democratic Party nominee Assemblywoman Linda Stender.

Republican attorney Tom Roughneen of Watchung, twice awarded the Bronze Star for his Army service in Iraq, is forming an exploratory committee to run for Congress in the 7th district.

"My Irish-immigrant, blue-collar parents raised their 5 children to appreciate the opportunities in America," said Roughneen in a letter to Republicans he sent out earlier this month. "For 10 years I served as a prosecutor and for twenty years I have served in the Army.

Frank Lautenberg, who at age 84 will seek a fifth term as a United States Senator from New Jersey. If he wins, he’d become the oldest and longest-serving Senator in state history. But a sudden retirement could turn New Jersey politics upside-down.

Common Sense America Executive Director

John Adler, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman who is seeking to become the first Democratic Congressman from Jim Saxton’s district since 1994. And watch Frank LoBiondo, if Jeff Van Drew decides he wants to be a Congressman

Kate Whitman

Charlotte DeFilippo, the veteran Union County Democratic Chair, had her records as Executive Director of the Union County Improvement Authority subpoenaed by the state Attorney General’s office.

Matthew Boxer,

Troy Singleton

The Group

Dennis Shulman

Two veteran New Jersey operatives get a chance to manage in the major leagues:

Two of the state’s leading young Hispanic politicians are

New Jersey AFL-CIO President

The unexpected retirement of Republican Reps. Jim Saxton and Mike Ferguson has opened up a wide field of potential congressional candidates, many of whom have spent the last month in fundraising overdrive mode and have already gotten donors to cough up some impressive amounts of cash.

Congressional District 7

In the seventh congressional district, Republicans are lining up to challenge Democrat Linda Stender, who raised close to $2 million last year only to lose to Ferguson by one point. This time, unlike last, she has the full support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, whose Chairman, Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, came to the state in November to endorse and raise money for her and her third district counterpart John Adler.

Stender would not say how much she raised in 2007, but a source close to her said that the campaign has approximately $500,000 in the bank.

Former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman says that her attendance at a bi-partisan meeting in Oklahoma this month should not be misinterpreted as playing a role in the founding of a third party or in urging New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to mount an independent bid for President this year.  Whitman, a PolitickerNJ.com columnist, said she would not leave the GOP.

Former Governor Christine Todd Whitman will be among a small group of Democrats and Republicans who will attend a January 7 meeting in Oklahoma with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that could result in a third party presidential candidate. 

According to a Washington Post report, the bi-partisan group will be “prepared to back Bloomberg or someone else” if the major party candidates “do not pledge to go beyond tokenism in building an administration that seeks national consensus.” 

Whitman's involvement in this effort could impact the campaign of her daughter, Kate Whitman, who is seeking the Republican nomination for Congress in the 7th district.