Mike Ferguson

The retirements of Congressmen Jim Saxton and Mike Ferguson offers the potential for an interesting game of political musical chairs.

In District 3, if John Adler goes to Congress, look for Louis Greenwald to replace him in the State Senate.  That will open up a sixth district Assembly seat that Cherry Hill might claim, although that decision will be made by party leaders.  Most of the Cherry Hill Councilmembers are potential candidates, and one interesting replacement for Greenwald would be Councilwoman Shelley Adler, whose husband could be a Congressman.  This is a safe Democratic district, and legislators picked at a Special Election Convention would be virtual shoo-ins for the November 2009 elections.

The buzz among Republican insiders is that Leonard Lance would do well as a Congressman, but that he’ll need to show party leaders that he can handle being a candidate. Lance is a statesman-like policy wonk who is viewed as a poor player of the partisan political game – and that is potentially a big problem in a competitive general election against a Democrat who came within one percent of winning the House seat in 2006.

Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance has decided to run for Congress, and is telling Republican leaders that he will enter the race for Mike Ferguson's seat.

Lance, 55, has served in the State Senate since 2002 and has been the Republican leader for four years. Facing a challenge from Tom Kean, Jr., he did not seek re-election to his leadership post. Lance spent ten years as a State Assemblyman. He sought the GOP nomination for Congress in 1996, and finished third in the primary.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen will be in New Jersey on Thursday to brief reporters on “Democratic opportunities in New Jersey” – the retirements of Republican Congressmen Jim Saxton and Mike Ferguson.  State Sen. John Adler and Assemblywoman Linda Stender, the leading candidates for the now-open 3rd and 7th district seats, will join Van Hollen.  The DCCC will offer pre-primary endorsements of Adler and Stender, according to spokeswoman Carrie James. 

Kate Whitman, the daughter of former Gov. Christie Whitman, is considering running for Congress.  But she wants the public to know that she does not feel any sense of entitlement.

"I don't think just because my last name is Whitman I'm entitled to anything.  I'll work just as hard if not harder than anyone else for this," said the 30-year-old Whitman, who has worked as a congressional staffer, for the U.S. Department of Labor, and the New Hampshire Republican Party.  She is the Executive Director of the Republican Leadership Council, which her mother co-chairs.

She said that her lack of experience as an elected official isn't necessarily detrimental.

Michael Illions, aka A.J. Sparxx, a former professional wrestler who runs the political activist organization and blog Conservatives With Attitude, has never held elected office. But Jesse “The Body” Ventura only served four years as the mayor of a relatively small suburban town before he was elected Governor of Minnesota.

So Illions, 42, thinks people shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss him as a potential congressional candidate in the seventh district.

Hunterdon Freeholder-elect Will Mennen, the heir to a deoderant fortune, says he's leaning toward a congressional bidWill Mennen says he spoke with his family over the Thanksgiving break, and they are supportive of his efforts to seek the 7th district U.S. Congressional seat - in the event he decides to run.

"I'm trying to be deliberative about this, because I only want to make this decision once," said the Tewksbury attorney and freeholder-elect. "I'm the type of guy, when I'm in it, I'm in it. That's 110%."

Mennen could be emerging as Hunterdon County's alternative to Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance, who is also strongly leaning toward running for the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson. But Mennen said he had conversations with Lance last week and acknowledged today that what the minority leader ends up doing might affect his own decision.

Kate Whitman, the daughter of former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, is expected to seek the Republican nomination for Congress in the seventh district.  Whitman, 30, a former  congressional aide, spent the weekend meeting with a number of fundraisers and officials who are supporting her candidacy.

Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance is now a likely candidate for Mike Ferguson's seat in Congress
Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance is sounding more and more like a Congressional candidate to replace U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, who announced last week that he will not seek another term.

"I’m very heavily leaning in the direction of running” said Lance, who’s been making phone calls to shore up support. “I’m very encouraged by the conversations I’ve had across the district, and that’s in all four counties. And obviously there will be unity, complete support here in Hunterdon County”

If Lance does decide to run, he’ll be the Republican favorite to take on the Democrats’ likely nominee, Assemblywoman Linda Stender. He’s one of the highest profile politicians whose name is still in consideration and is popular in his native Hunterdon County, an important chunk of the primary votes for any Republican.

Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks says he's definitely in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson in the 7th district.

"We're full steam ahead on this," said Marks, a dentist who is in his eighth year as mayor. "I intend to take this to the finish line."

Marks, 45, reiterated his belief that his candidacy would make the most strategic sense for the Republican Party, and argues that because he is from the same corner of Union County as Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Stender, he can compete with her better than any other candidate.