Kelly Hatfield

The race for the Republican nod to succeed Mike Ferguson in the seventh district is looking good for Leonard Lance – although that could change when he finally discloses how much money he has raised. The former Senate Minority Leader is the lone candidate from Hunterdon County, which has the largest percentage (38%) of Republican primary voters of the four counties in the seventh district. Lance will have the organization line in Hunterdon, where he appears exceedingly popular. If the field remains large – right now there are seven other candidates in the race – Lance’s plurality in Hunterdon alone should be enough to win the nomination.

The Seventh district Republican congressional race saw some new – and in some cases surprising – endorsements this morning.

Today Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. will appear with State Sen. Leonard Lance to promote him to replace outgoing Rep. Mike Ferguson.

But Kean’s two Assembly running mates, Minority Whip Jon Bramnick and Dr. Eric Munoz, announced today that they are backing former Summit Council President P. Kelly Hatfield for the seat.

Both Kean and Bramnick were early frontrunners to seek the seat, but they declined.

Kate Whitman and Leonard Lance sought to affirm their conservative credentials at a forum for seventh district Republican congressional candidates in Clark last night. 

About eighty Republicans showed up to hear five of the contenders for the seat of four-term incumbent Mike Ferguson, who announced last year that he would not seek re-election.

Positioning himself as the social conservative in a field of pro-choice Republicans, Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks made it clear he is pro-life.

GOP State Sen. Leonard Lance has scheduled a press conference on Wednesday morning on the steps of the historic Hunterdon County Courthouse, to declare his candidacy for U.S. Congress in the 7th district.

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.

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.

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.

Right now, it’s looking like a two-candidate race for Mike Ferguson’s seventh district House seat between Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance and Kate Whitman, the 30-year-old daughter of the former Governor. Somerset Republican insiders say that Assemblyman Peter Biondi and Freeholder Jack Ciattarelli will be the next to announce that they won’t run for Congress.

Union County has two candidates who are, at this point, second tier: Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks and former Summit Councilwoman Kelly Hatfield. Both will need to show considerable fundraising success by the end of this month – there won’t be another report due until April – and then one of them will have to dominate the local endorsement game, where Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean, Jr. is the biggest catch. Kean could stay out of the race – a message to Union County Republicans that Lance and Whitman are stronger candidates – or endorse Lance outright.