Leonard Desiderio

Cape May County GOP Chairman David Von Savage says that his organization has endorsed Christopher Christie for the Republican nomination for Governor, becoming the seventh county organization to put the former U.S. Attorney on their line. 

"Governor Corzine obviously does not understand that the hardworking taxpayer is asked to reach deeper and more often into his pockets year after year to pay for the mistakes of our leaders in Trenton and Washington," said Von Savage, who is among the most ideologically conservative GOP party chairs.  "Chris Christie gets it and he is on the side of the taxpayer."

Von Savage said that Christie will run on the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization line with first district Assembly candidates Mike Donohue and Frank Conrad, and Freeholder Leonard Desiderio.

"Donohue and Conrad will vote for the reforms in a Christie Administration that are absolutely necessary to roll back the size of government, get it off our backs and out of our wallets," said Von Savage.

The defeat of three-term Cumberland County Sheriff Michael Barruzza by 1,569 votes -- a 52%-48% margin -- could be good news for the state GOP.  Now Barruzza, a former Vineland police officer, could emerge as a strong challenger to Democratic Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam in 2009.  And one Republican insider says that if Republicans are able to recruit Barruzza to run for Assemblyman, it might help them convince their other top choice, Cape May County Freeholder (and Sea Isle City Mayor) Leonard Desiderio to reconsider his decision not to run.  That Republican suggests that a Desiderio/Barruzza ticket would be most formidable next year as the GOP looks for places to make gains in the Legislature.

Cape May County Freeholder Leonard Desiderio, viewed by many Republicans as the strongest possible contender to help the GOP regain State Assembly seats in the first district next year, has told party leaders that he will not be a candidate for the Legislature in 2009.  Desiderio, who is also the Mayor of Sea Isle City, was the first choice of the state GOP, who views Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam as the most vulnerbale Democratic incumbents in the next election. 

Republicans think their best chance to pick up Democratic Assembly seats next year is in the first district, where incumbents Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam are expected to seek re-election. Democrats swept the district in 2007 when Jefferson Van Drew ousted Republican incumbent Nicholas Asselta in a hotly contested State Senate race. Milam won by 2,020 votes - one of the closest races in the state; Albano was re-elected to a second term by 5,319 votes. Without Van Drew on the ticket, the GOP is optimistic.

Voters in six New Jersey towns will elect a Mayor in Tuesday's non-partisan municipal elections. The premier race is in Evesham, a swing town of 42,275 people in Burlington County that has become increasingly competitive in recent general elections. While the race is technically non-partisan, both parties have horses in the contest.

South Jersey Republicans are already talking about how to make Nelson Albano a one-term Assemblyman, and the leading candidate to challenge Albano in 2007 is Leonard Desiderio, a Cape May County Freeholder and the Mayor of Sea Isle City. Albano ousted Republican Assemblyman Jack Gibson earlier this month. Gibson earns a place in the record books: he is the only legislator under the current State Constitution to lose the same seat twice. When Albano takes office in January, it will be the first time in state history that Cape May County Republicans have no representation in the New Jersey Legislature.

Two years ago there was considerable speculation that Republican State Senator-elect Nicholas Asselta would switch parties. Asselta strongly denied reports that he had discussed a party switch with Democratic leaders, although PoliticsNJ.com continues to stand behind our report that he did. Again there is talk of an Asselta party switch, although two sources say the more likely scenario would be for Asselta to be offered a post in the Corzine administration. With Congressman Frank LoBiondo reversing his term limits pledge, and Senate Republicans in the minority, there may not be many opportunites for Asselta to move up. Should Asselta leave the Senate, Republicans (even if Asselta were to switch before his resignation, the law gives the seat to the party that won it in the last election) would hold a Special Election Convention to replace him -- look for Cape May County Freeholder Leonard Desiderio to be the front runner for that seat -- setting up a November 2006 Special Election against Democratic Assemblyman Jefferson Van Drew, who won re-election last week by in a massive landslide. If the rumors are wrong, you have to wonder how long it will take for Asselta and Van Drew to cease their peaceful coexistance: at some point Van Drew will want to be a Senator, and he almost surely shares Asselta's goal of someday replacing the 59-year-old LoBiondo in Congress.