LD-23

Former Republican state Sen. Bill Schluter wants to see his old seat kept in moderate Republican hands, and he thinks Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt is the man to do it.

Schluter, 81 is actively working to help Holt, the grandson of former U.S. Sen. Clifford P. Case, run for the 23rd District state Senate seat.

“I’m definitely in the camp of Matt Holt. I think he’s an outstanding individual and would make a good state senator. I’d like to retain the district as a Republican district, and I think he could do that,” said Schluter.

Holt has formed an exploratory committee, but yesterday told PolitickerNJ that he would not make a formal announcement until after Thanksgiving.

True, the 23rd District is drawn to be safely Republican, but, Schluter said, “stranger things have happened.”

Hunterdon County Republican Chairman Henry Kuhl has sat down with all three potential candidates to succeed state Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington), but said he won’t make an endorsement yet.

“This is too soon. Some people jump in front. I’m usually a late endorser because I want to see how all candidates running for office are participating, and whether they intend to be in to the end and so forth,” he said.

Likely opponents: Holt and Karrow at an event in 2007 (source: central.hcrhs.k12.nj.us)

Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt said today that Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow’s (R-Flemington) decision to run for the seat of outgoing state Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington) will not deter his own ambition.

Holt, who announced that he was setting up an exploratory committee last week, told PolitickerNJ.com today that he is likely to run for the seat as well.

“If anything, it energizes me even further,” said Holt. “Since the press release and my sort of formal announcement of my intent to move forward, I have just had an extremely large number of supporters both on a financial end as well as the working end of the campaign.”

Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Washington Township) speaks at a pro-life rally in 2004 (Source: njtrl.org)

It is still not clear exactly how many candidates are running to succeed state Sen. Leonard Lance, but battle lines are already being drawn on two fronts: geography and ideology.

Assemblyman Mike Doherty (R-Washington Township), 45, is going to campaign on the latter. He’s from Warren County, which initially puts him at a slight disadvantage in a county committee race, since it has about 40 fewer members than Hunterdon County, home of his opponent, Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow (R-Flemington). But he’s one of the most conservative members of the legislature, and plans to use that to siphon off Hunterdon’s most staunchly conservative county committee men and women.

“I see it as a real bellwether of what type of Republican leadership we’re going to have,” said Doherty, who’s a patent lawyer by trade. “If you ask people across the state who are among the most conservative Republican legislators, I would be among the first or second people named. That’s going to enure to my benefit.”

Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow (R-Flemington)

Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow (R-Flemington) announced this morning that she will run for the state Senate seat in the 23rd Legislative District.

"I have been very effective in the Assembly, even while in the Republican minority. In plain and simple terms, I am running for the this seat because I believe that I can be even more effective in the Senate,” she said in a statement this morning. “My fiscal conservatism and my common-sense approach to problem solving are important skills upon which I have built my political career. Now, more than ever, I believe my ability to build relationships and reach across the aisle to find common ground, while maintaining my core commitment to Republic principles - smaller government and lower taxes -- is critical.”

Karrow’s decision to vie for the seat sets up what will almost certainly be a hotly contested race between her and Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Washington Township), a conservative from neighboring Warren County.

Assemblyman Mike Doherty (R-Washington Township) has begun releasing endorsements from Hunterdon County Republicans in support of his quest to succeed state Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington). 

Today, Doherty unveiled an endorsement from Raritan Township Deputy Mayor Richard O'Malley, who praised his fiscal and social conservatism, saying “we need more leaders like him in Trenton who will stand up for the pro-family values that are the foundation of our Hunterdon County community.” 

Hunterdon GOP Chairman Henry Kuhl "assumes" his county will field a candidate for Leonard Lance's State Senate seat

While Assemblyman Mike Doherty (R-Washington Township) is already pounding the pavement in an effort to succeed Congressman-elect Leonard Lance in the state Senate, no definite candidate from Lance’s native Hunterdon County has emerged to compete for the seat yet.

But long-time Hunterdon County Republican Chairman Henry Kuhl thinks there will be one.

“I would assume that that would happen,” he said.

Two state senators today endorsed Assemblyman Mike Doherty (R-Washington) to replace outgoing State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington).

The moderate state Sen. Kevin O’Toole (R-Cedar Grove) said that Doherty “has worked diligently both in his district and across the state to represent the principles and values of the Republican Party.”

State Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Montville), a conservative, called Doherty a “gallant fighter for conservative principles.”  Pennacchio received Doherty’s endorsement for his own U.S. Senate campaign earlier this year after Doherty decided not to run.

Matt Holt, a Hunterdon County Freeholder and the grandson of former U.S. Sen. Clifford Case, says he might run for Leonard Lance's State Senate seat

Another potential candidate has emerged to succeed State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington) after he resigns his seat to head to Congress.

Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt this morning put one foot in the ring, announcing that he’s forming an exploratory committee to “examine his prospects” at the joint Hunterdon and Warren County convention that will decide who will serve in Lance’s seat until the November election.

Holt likened his political temperament to Lance and former State Sen. Bill Schluter, as a “voice of reason and moderation” and “a person of vision who avoids partisan gridlock in order to promote the best interests of the residents of Warren and Hunterdon counties.”

So far, Assemblyman Mike Doherty (R-Washington) is the only announced candidate to succeed Congressman-elect Leonard Lance (R-Flemington) in the state Senate. But he’s already won the endorsement of the state’s major pro-life organization, New Jersey Right to Life.

The group’s executive director, Marie Tasy, lauded Doherty as a “principled leader on matters concerning the sanctity of human life,” noting that his voting record has been firmly pro-life and that as a Warren County freeholder he “led the effort” against publicly funding Planned Parenthood.